


The words that need to be said

by ThM



Series: When life starts [6]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Alternate Universe - 2D Bendy (Bendy and the Ink Machine), Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, I said June wasn't dead, I'm Bad At Tagging, Ink Henry AU, Shadows of the Studio, Tagging to be on the safe side, Zanzaflux, slice of life.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:01:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 37,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22919614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThM/pseuds/ThM
Summary: Ben tells Henry about today, Henry sees another flashback and decides to call an old friend, changing everything in the future
Series: When life starts [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1643314
Kudos: 12





	1. Old friends

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ZanzaFlux](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZanzaFlux/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Back to Where It All Began](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18841015) by [ZanzaFlux](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZanzaFlux/pseuds/ZanzaFlux). 
  * Inspired by [You Can't Smile All The Time](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11688090) by [ZanzaFlux](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZanzaFlux/pseuds/ZanzaFlux). 
  * Inspired by [Of Broken Cars and Big Rigs](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11795562) by [ZanzaFlux](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZanzaFlux/pseuds/ZanzaFlux). 



Ben felt more light-chested, he felt comfortable enough to tell someone he barely knew about his past, well… partially. These past few days have really boosted his self-confidence

Henry could tell something as bothering Ben, but he couldn’t figure it out. This started to make the man feel extreme concern for Ben

To help the concern building up in Henry he walked up to Ben and sat down next to him

“So, how did it go?” Henry asked

“ **Well, I told Jone a bit about the past and how you guys are so used to me** ” Ben replied

“Wait, you told Jone about your past? How far back did you go?” Henry asked

“ **I started to where June took off that necklace and stopped before the incident at the studio,** ” Ben said, his voice began to shake

“Well, I’m glad you got it out to someone. It’s always good to tell someone, no matter who it is, clearing your chest is more important than who you're talking to” Henry said. Ben started to tear up slightly. He knew he wouldn’t break out, but tearing is the furthest he could hold it back

“Hey Ben, I’m going inside to check on June, maybe you should go check on the cats,” Henry said. Ben shrugged softly

“HEY JAY, WHERE GOING INSIDE, CAN YOU KEEP AN EYE ON EVERYONE?” Henry yelled out

“SURE” Jason replied in a yell

“Alright, I’ll be down in a couple of minutes, go wake up the cats and feed them,” Henry told Ben

“ **What about Shadow?** ” Ben asked

“Your right, here let me heat some bacon strips, you give them to Shadow and then I’ll go check up on June,” Henry said

Ben nodded as he entered his room to find two sleeping cats on his bed. They really do love the quilt more than anything, even the box.

He sat down on his bed and rubbed both cats’ bellies, they both woke up slowly. Cloudy decided to not get up, Ben picked him up and carried the tired kitten to his food bowl, Shadow followed

Ben filled Cloudy’s bowl, Shadow became jealous, where was his food?

Ben looked over to see Shadow looking at the floor, he wondered what he was doing. He got his answer when a loud and audible grumble came from the ink cat’s stomach

Henry chuckled

“Don’t worry Shadow, I’m heating some bacon for ya’” Henry said. The cat approached the man and wrapped its tail around Henry’s legs. Henry chuckled at the act

A few minutes past by as Henry finished the bacon, he gave the strips to Ben as he filled a glass with water and headed for June’s room

“ **Here ya’ go,** ” Ben said as he put out his hand filled with bacon

Shadow investigated the Bacon strips before gobbling them down, looks like Shadow was hungry after his long nap

* * *

“Hey June-bug, you need anything?” Henry asked

“No, not really. Henry, how’s everyone doing?” June asked

“Everyone’s fine, everyone misses you but they’re all glad that your okay” Henry said

“What about Ben?” June asked

“Well, he’s been going through a lot recently but he’s handling it by himself which is good” Henry answered

“That’s good to hear,” June said slightly sad. This emotion didn’t go unknown by Henry

“June-bug what’s wrong? Is something bothering you?” Henry asked

“Yeah, I’m just sad that I can’t celebrate with you guys tonight. It’s Ben’s first new year and he can’t even celebrate it with his entire family” June said sadder

Henry seemed to understand the feelings June gave off, he to would be sad if he missed a holiday with Bendy

Henry leaned in offering a hug to June, June accepted as she fell into a soft sob

* * *

Ben could hear crying, it sounded like June. Was she hurt?

Ben decided to check it out, he made clear that he was coming up as he stomped his feet. When his head peaked around the corner, he stopped in his tracks, the sight of June crying broke him more than June

Ben approached cautiously as he thought he could hurt June more than she already was. He knew he wouldn’t, but he wouldn’t take any chances

As he approached, June looked up at him, to say he looked worried was an understatement

Henry also saw the demon, he looked sad. Henry decided it was a good idea to invite him to the hug, he opened his left arm letting Ben fall into place

No one spoke, three people, two that were crying, one that was trying their best not to cry, but in the end failed. They were all sad about the same thing, but Ben had something else on his chest he needed to clear. Ben broke the ice

“ **J-June, H-Henry, I need to t-tell you s-something,** ” Ben said sadly

“ **T-Today was the day I was s-summoned,** ” Ben said. June and Henry stopped tearing and looked at each other, it was Ben’s birthday and they didn’t even know it.

Why did he keep it a secret? Was he scared about something? Would the memories of being summoned flood his brain and pull him back? No, they would stand by Ben and keep him company no matter what the cost if he needed help, he would receive in a heartbeat

Ben began to tear up more and more, soon falling into a wail so loud a sound dampened room couldn’t muffle the noise enough. Henry and June comforted the demon while he bawled to the fullest

“Ben”

“Ben”

Both said at the same time. Ben continuing to wail but looked up to the two, they were willing to help him in whatever it was that haunted him about today. Ben stopped wailing but continued to cry

“ **Y-Yeah?** ” Ben said sniffling, trying his best to stop crying

“We are here for you, and whatever it is that hurts you we will help you fight and heal. You know that, right?” Henry said June nodded

“But we can’t help you if you don’t tell us what’s happening, so please what is so bad about your birthday?” June said Henry nodded

Ben stood there in silence, he couldn’t find anything to say, the only option he had was cry. Until something snapped him out of it, it was Henry, through the bond, he was trying to see what was so bad about today. He got his answer as a flashback appeared

* * *

**_Today Joey mentioned something about an anniversary, but to who? How should I know, I can barely wander after the incident with Alice. I wished I wasn't so stupid, of course, I would hurt her, I always do, I never do anything correctly._ **

**_Joey sent me to the second floor, I never really came down here, but I should, this music was too nice._ **

**_I try to find where it’s coming from, it sounds like it’s coming from a closet? That’s strange, maybe I should investigate._ **

**_Huh, there’s a bunch of films, records, a projector, a phonograph, why was this all here?_ **

**_Wait, there’s more._** **_Huh, looks like Wally has been busy, it’s all nice and tidy._**

**_What was that? Did I hear a slam, was that the door?_ **

**_I went to check, the door was closed it was also locked? Why was the door locked? When I came in it was unlocked? Was I tricked? Did Joey get ride of me? Why did this happen?_ **

**_I found this calendar, it has a big red x over the thirty first of December, wait, isn’t today the thirty first?_ **

**_No no NO, I’m locked in, who did this? Why did they do it? Did Joey do this? Was I being forgotten? Was this a punishment for what I did to Alice? Was this temporary? Was Henry going to come back? Was Henry going to save me? Was Henry my savior? I hope he is, he sounds much nicer then Joey_ **

**_Huh? The door is opening. Who is it? What do they want?_ **

**_It was Thomas, I hugged him, I don’t know why but I did, he saved me hopefully_ **

**_“_ ** _Sorry Bendy, I’m just here to say sorry for what Joey’s doing to you. I want to save you, but I can’t, Joey would sacrifice me in one of his messed-up rituals. I can’t get you out of here, but I can keep you company whenever I have time. I have an hour break, I’ll spend thirty minutes with you then I must go to eat lunch. I’m sorry, I really am **” Thomas apologized for Joey’s doings, man I really want to punch Joey, that would make me feel better**_

 **_“_ ** _Bendy, do you have any questions? **” Huh, I have three, I’ll try to ask him**_

**_“What’sss happening?”_ **

**_“_ ** _Joey thinks that you need to see what you should have been so that you could be him, I’m trying to tell him it’s not gonna work but he refuses to listen, **” So, Joey’s locking me up for good, I can’t wait to escape and give him what’s for**_

**_“What’sss your jobbb?”_ **

**_“_** _Oh, well since Henry left, I’m Joey’s, right-hand man._ _I hate it but I need to feed the kids and pay the bills **” Okay, that would make sense why Thomas does everything Joey should do**_

**_“Who’sss Henry and willl I ever sssee himmm?”_ **

**_“_ ** _Henry invented you, he made the design, he drew the best drawings of you, and he left knowing Joey Drew was nothing but a hoarder of fame and fortune. Sadly, I don’t think you’ll see Henry any day soon, but I really hope I’m wrong, you need him, he’s your real creator ya’ know that? **” I want to cry, so I do. I want to see Henry, maybe one of his drawings would cheer me up**_

**_“Could I sssee one of hisss drawingsss pleassse?” Thomas nodded at me, he stood up and left the room leaving me alone. He came back with multiple drawings in his hands, it had Henry written on it._ **

**_The pictures looked so real, I hope when I see him, he could teach me how to draw. That would be fun, maybe for once I would be truly happy, I know it will never happen, but I just hope._ **

**_“T-Ttthank you Thomasss” I started to cry, I leaned over to him and rested my head on his shoulder, he patted me on my back, I stopped crying and hugged him tighter. He had limits I didn’t want to push, but he acted like those limits didn’t exist just for my sake._ **

**_“_ ** _Bendy, I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow, alright? **” I nodded and waved him goodbye**_

* * *

This flashback to Henry was nice. He knew that Thomas did something nice for Ben. Before Henry said anything, another flashback hit him

* * *

**_FINALLY, I’m out. NOW where’s that egotistical asshole that goes by the name of Joey Drew?!_ **

**_AH HA, I found his office_ **

**_“_ ** _Bendy?!?! WHAT WARE YOU DOING HERE?!?! GO BACK TO THE CLOSET BEFORE I MAKE YOU REGRET IT! **” Joey’s attempt to hurt me is funny, why was I scared of him? Huh, scarred of a man who could barely fight.**_

**_He swung a fist at me, yes it had some force, but it was an easy stop. Joey retracted his arm, I think he knows what’s happening to him_ **

**_I’ve to hade it with this man, he lied to me, screamed at me, tricked me, locked me up, he fired Thomas, and to top it all off he never told me who Henry was._ **

**_“_ ** _BENDY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?! **” HA, might as well show him my voice while I still can**_

**_“Kiiiiiiiiilllllllllllliiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggg yyyyyyyyyyyyyyoooooooooooooouuuuuuuuu” Joey went whiter than the rotting walls behind him. I punched him, it felt good, too good, I did again, it felt even better. I kept punching him until he couldn’t even stand, this was it, all I had to do was stomp his head_ **

**_I lifted my foot and slammed it on his head_ **

* * *

The flashback ended there. Henry looked up at Ben, he seemed to be very sad, not about Joey but someone else. Henry knew exactly who it was, and lucky for him the number stuck in his head all these years

“Ben, come with me,” Henry said. Ben was scared that Henry would kick him out

Henry walked up to the phone as he entered a short distance number, soon the phone dialed the number and the ringback tone started

The ringback tone ended as someone called out

“ _Hello? Who is this?_ ” the caller called out, Ben knew who it was, and his face sprung with realization, Henry chuckled as he responded

“One of the few people that left Joey Drew Studios that’s who” Henry replied

“ _Henry! Jeez, it’s been so long since I heard that voice, you don’t know what’s happened at the studio, it’s an absolute mess. Joey summoned Bendy and put him in a closet because he was miss formed, I checked on him daily until I got fired, I hope Bendy’s okay”_ Thomas said. Henry chuckled as he handed Ben the phone

“ **I am,** ” Ben said. A quick silence fell in the line

“ _Bendy! You're okay! Geez, I was so worried that Joey did something to you… Wait how are you talking over the line?_ ” Thomas asked. Henry took the phone

“Hey Thomas, do you still live near my sister’s house? If so, could you come over for a sec” Henry asked

“ _Yup, never moved out, mostly because the house’s here are cheaper and there isn’t a single burglar insight,”_ Thomas said “ _I’ll be right over_ ”

Thomas rushed to get his clothes on, maybe for once after Joey Drew Studios something good would happen to him

He got his stuff on, left his house, closed the door, and bolted to June’s house arriving in less than ten minutes

* * *

“Welp, he’ll be here soon, wanna get you clothes on?” Henry asked. Ben bolted to his room with tears dripping from the side of his head, he was experiencing what June experience during the incident, tears of joy

Henry went back up the stairs

“Hey June-bug, someone’s visiting is that okay with you?” Henry asked as he helped June to her bed

“Yeah, wait who is it?” June asked

“Thomas from the studio” Henry replied, June was blown back

“He survived?” June asked

“Yup, sadly he got a divorce and the wife took the children, thankfully he kept the house, but he never gets to see his kids” Henry replied

“Aw, wait, why is he coming over?” June asked

“When Joey locked up Ben, Thomas took care of him, he was his temporary dad until he got fired” Henry replied

“Well, I hope Ben’s happy to see him. Now if you mind, I need to rest, I’m really tired” June said as she closed the door behind her

Henry headed to his room to get his winter gear on. As he headed downstairs, he saw that Ben was already outside playing in the snow

Henry ran outside, picked up a snowball and threw it at Jason, Jason looked at Henry who was laughing at his reaction, he threw a snowball back at Henry, and the war continued.

When Thomas arrived, he was baffled, he saw not only one but two ink demon’s in the snow, he saw a perfect version and a mismatched version. It didn’t take long for Ben to realize Thomas was there

“ **Thomas!** ” Ben said as he ran up to the man

“Bendy! How are you doing?” Thomas said. This got the attention of Bendy, someone he didn’t know got called him out

“Hello?” Bendy said as he approached the man

“ **Oh, Thomas because this is a bit confusing, uh, see he’s Bendy and I’m Ben, June had some trouble with our names. She called me Ben once and I went with it** ” Ben said

“I see, well you look much different than before ya goofball,” Thomas said

“Thomas!” Henry called, this got everyone’s attention as Thomas and Henry walked to each other

“Henry! Long time no see eh?” Thomas said

“Still using that Canadian accent, I see. Tell me something Thomas, you’re not Canadian and you never speak like this to anyone else, what makes me different huh?” Henry said

“Meh, I guess I liked provoking you,” Thomas said. The two men hugged each other

“Hey, Uncle Henry, who is this?” Sarah asked Ben answered

“ **This is Thomas, before Henry, Thomas looked after me,** ” Ben said

“Ahhhhh, was he nice?” Beth said jokingly. Ben rubbed Beth’s head

“ **Of course he was nice, at that time he was the nicest person I knew,** ” Ben said

“Well nice ta’ meet ya’ Thomas,” Bendy said as he put his hand for a handshake

“Nice to meet you too Bendy,” Thomas said

Everyone chatted for a bit until Ben threw a snowball at Thomas, he looked surprised catching Ben off guard, he threw a snowball right between Ben’s eyes. Everyone laughed, even Ben, and from there on the war continued

A few minutes later Jonah and Jones came over, seeing Thomas

“Well look who’s out of there shell,” Jones said

“A quiet down you I’m in a snow fight, and I think you might wanna duck before getting pelted with snowballs ya dolt,” Thomas said, Bendy was taken back a bit, he knew Ben used the word dolt a lot, but he never knew why. Now he knew where Ben learned the word dolt, Thomas seemed to use it a lot. He stopped throwing for a second before getting pilled on by snowballs, he ran as fast as he could trying to evade everyone

“How are we gonna hit him?” Thomas asked Ben got Thomas’s attention as he caught up with the demon’s speed and threw one snowball at him, causing Bendy to stop and fall face-first into the snow

Thomas laughed at this, but soon he laughed at something else, Ben was headfirst into a pile of snow, what a funny sight

As Ben got his head out, he looked to find the demon, he spotted Bendy and walked towards the toon

He helped the toon get his head out of the snow. They walked over to the porch and sat down, watching everyone play in the snow. Bendy broke the ice

“So, was he nice to ya’?” Bendy asked

“ **He was the nicest person I knew back then, he did anything to make me feel better. When I could wander, he didn’t like me that much but when I was locked up, he was the nicest one in the world. Joey would always tell me to listen to him. But I always listened to Thomas, he was always more understanding and did things I wanted to do. Yes, every day we only had thirty minutes, but it was better than nothing** ” Ben said

“Your right, if I had to choose between seeing a liar forever or seeing someone that cared about me for thirty minutes, I would choose the thirty minutes,” Bendy said

“What did you two do exactly?” Bendy asked

“ **Well he taught me things, we watched cartoons together, he would even let me dump what was building in me out, whenever I needed to say something I did,** ” Ben said

“Wow. What was your guy’s most cherished moment together?” Bendy asked

“ **Today. Today I was summoned, Today I was locked up and Today is when Thomas showed me Henry’s drawings. He even apologized the first day, he wished that he could free me, but he had a family and if he took me, he would lose his job** ” Ben said, Ben continued a little shakier

“ **T-Today was also the d-day he was f-fired, and it was all my fault.** ” Ben said

“What happened?” Bendy asked

“ **W-Well Thomas always checked on me during his break, Joey never knew Thomas was doing what he was doing. He always told Thomas to stay away from the room, but Thomas never listened. Today was the day Joey found out that Thomas was keeping me company, he kept blaming Thomas for not making me change, but it wasn’t his fault, it was Joey’s. I refused to change, and Thomas helped me with my decision, but today, I never heard from him again.** ” Ben said as he slipped into a soft sob

“Aww, Ben, c’mon don’t cry. He’s here now, and that idiot Joey can’t stop you from seeing him” Bendy said, trying his best to cheer up Ben

Thomas looked over to Ben and Bendy, he saw Ben crying softly with Bendy comforting him. He decided to walk over to Ben and Bendy, this got Ben’s attention

“Hey, Ben, you okay? I haven’t seen you cry so much since the last time you stubbed your toe” Thomas said trying to lighten Ben with memories from the past

Ben chuckled half-heartedly as he remembered that day. Thomas sat down next to Ben as he rubbed his back

“ **You always did that** ” Ben said

“Did what?”

“Did what?”

Bendy and Thomas said at the same time

“ **You always rubbed my back,** ” Ben said, leaving Thomas and Bendy confused

“ **You were always there for me until you weren’t,** ” Ben said, Thomas and Bendy still confused

“ **Thomas, I need to tell you something,** ” Ben said

“Go ahead, I’m here for you,” Thomas said

“ **It’s what ensued when you left,** ” Ben said, his voice became shakier

“Well, whenever you want, drop it,” Thomas said

“ **You always said that,** ” Ben said, he started to tear up

“Ben?” Thomas said

Ben pulled himself together

“ **W-When you left, Joey did something, he barricaded my door so that I couldn’t get out,** ” Ben said

“ **I got out one day, I did something that I don’t know if I should or shouldn’t regret,** ” Ben said

“Well, what is it?” Thomas asked sincerely

“ **I looked for Joey, and when I found him** ” Ben paused, trying his best not to collapse

“ **And when I FoUnD him, I m-made sure JoEy DrEw NeVeR SaW ThE lIgHt oF DaY AgAiN,** ” Ben said with his voice distorting

“O-Oh,” Thomas said

“ **T-Thomas did I do the right thing?** ” Ben asked

Thomas took a second to think about it before answering

“You did, that man never deserved to see light ever in his life. He tortured you, he tortured his workers, and he even tortured his first summoned. I wasn’t there but I heard the screams of pain and agony coming from the creature” Thomas said

“ **T-Thank y-you** ” Ben said

Both leaned in for a hug, Ben broke into tears. Bendy decided to join the hug as he wanted Ben to be happy

After a few minutes of crying, Ben gathered it up

“ **Thank you, Thomas, for sticking with me when I needed you,** ” Ben said

“No problem Bendy, wait, Ben… sorry” Thomas said

Both demons laughed at the mistake Thomas made

“Hey, it’s not easy calling someone you knew for a year straight something else okay?” Thomas said this got a chuckle out of both Bendy and Ben

“Alright, I guess it is a little funny” Thomas said enlightening the mood

Through the bond, Bendy asked Ben something

_“Is he always this uplifting?”_

_“ **Yup, that his specialty, whenever your down, Thomas will bring you right back up** ”_

_“Good to know, now ya might wanna dodge the snowball that Sarah threw at you”_

_“ **Huh?** ”_

Ben was hit in the face with a snowball, just like Bendy said, it was Sarah who threw it

Ben looked over at Bendy, he was laughing

“I told you!” Bendy said

Ben picked up some snow and threw it at Bendy, Bendy tried to retaliate but in the end, hit Thomas

“What did I do to ya’?” Thomas said acting overly surprised

“N-Nothing” Bendy said, nervous that he may have hurt Thomas

Thomas chuckled, he threw a snowball at both Ben’s and Bendy’s face

“ **What was that for?** ” Ben exclaimed

“Well, you threw one at Bendy, and Bendy tried to throw one back at you but hit me. So, I guess you could say, payback” Thomas said. Bendy now understood why Ben liked payback so much, looks like Ben and Thomas liked to get some payback on Joey

He stood there, but his thought process was rudely interrupted by a snowball. He checked to see who threw it, Henry started laughing

“What’s the matter bud? Cat got your tongue?” Henry said. Jason threw a snowball at him

“WHY I OTTA” Bendy exclaimed as he threw a snowball back at Henry.

The war continued from there, and the best part, everyone was having fun.

A few later minutes later, Thomas and Ben sat out as the regained their breath. Thomas knew that today wasn’t pleasing for Ben, it always brought Ben down.

“Have you told them about today?” Thomas asked

“ **Partially** ” Ben replied

“Well, what did you tell them?”

“ **I said today was the day I was summoned and was also the day I was locked up, but also the day I met you, and the day I never saw you again.** ”

“You didn’t tell them all that, I know you, you probably stopped at when you met me right?”

“ **Y-Yeah I did, I-I just can’t** ”

“Ben, look at me,” Thomas said as Ben looked at him, the soft purple in his eyes were glowing brightly

“You need to tell them, or else you’ll never clear your head.”

“So what today is the day you where pummeled to the ground by everyone in the studio? No one can do that to you anymore, I never did it, you know that they won’t do it either right?” Thomas said in a sincere tone

“They won’t hunt you down and kick you ‘til you tremble, they will help you get up no matter what, I’m sure of it!”

“ **B-But where could I do it? I mean transforming that large would break the house** ”

“Your right, hmm, ya’ know what? I’m going to ask Henry” Thomas said as he got up and walked towards Henry. Ben tried to stop him but failed

Thomas walked up to Henry only to whisper something in his ear, Henry looked at Thomas like he was joking, but when he looked at Ben, that proved that he was telling the truth

Henry walked up to Ben

“Hey Ben, why didn’t you tell me?” Henry asked

“ **I don’t like it, I hate transforming into that t-thing, I try to make it better by not telling anyone, but it’s always the worst thing,** ” Ben said shakily

Thomas and Henry tried to find words but couldn’t. this made Ben more and more anxious to flee, he almost did, but a feminine voice said otherwise

“Then I’ll help you,” June said

“June? Why aren’t you in bed?” Henry asked

“Well, Yesterday I was in the bathroom looking for some Advil and Tylenol but couldn’t find any, I decided to go down until something caught my eye. I saw that there was, in fact, a bottle of penicillin, it was hidden behind my comb” June said

“Well that would have been better to know a couple a days ago,” Henry said

“You're telling me” June replied

“ **June,** ” Ben said. June opened her arms, Ben fell into place clinging on to her as he started crying

“It’s okay Ben, it’s okay,” June said. Thomas was slightly surprised, he knew he was good to Ben, but June seemed to be even better to him like they were a family all along.

* * *

“So, let me get this straight. Today Ben was summoned, beaten, locked up, met you, never saw you again, and transforms into what we saw back in the studio?” June said

“ **Yeah,** ” Ben said sadly

“Alright, when do you transform?” June asked

“ **Midnight** ” Ben replied

“Okay, then it’ll be just like that time where I pushed Bendy to his limits right?” June said

“Hey, I don’t want to remember that,” Bendy said

“Well you have too, it’ll remind you that you have someone that will look out for you,” June said. Bendy groaned

“Plus, I may need your help to Bendy, ya know, just in case,” June said. Bendy looked at June, did she want him to transform into his nightmare form? He thought about for a bit until ultimately agreeing, he wanted to help Ben out as much as possible

**I don’t like this, I feel like I’m going to do something wrong. I’m scared, I don’t want to be scared, I want to be happy,**

**_You can’t be happy, you’re a demon, you idiot. Demons do one thing and one thing only, kill. Now can you stop procrastinating and kill these people already?_ **

**No, I will not kill them, I won’t let you take over my actions, I decide what I want to do.**

**_Then act like a demon! Then you’ll be happier, I promise you!_ **

**NO, I will NOT KILL THEM, do you understand?**

**_NO, I DON’T, THERE JUST HUMANS, THERE ARE BILLIONS AROUND THE WORLD, WHAT MAKES THESE ONES SPECIAL HUH?_ **

**…**

**_Yeah, that’s what I thought, now let’s kill them!_ **

**FOR THE LAST TIME. WE. ARE. NOT. KILLING. THEM.**

**_WHY NOT? THEIR JUST AVERAGE HUMANS. NO ONE WILL MISS THEM, THEY’LL ALL FORGET_ **

**THEY are not AVERAGE HUMANS, THEY are FAMILY. WHEN WILL YOU UNDERSTAND?!?!**

**_…_ **

**YEAH, that’s what I thought. NOW, YOU can EITHER STAY and STOP TELLING ME TO KILL THEM or LEAVE AND LEAVE ME AND MY FAMILY ALONE. WHICH will it be?**

**_… I want to stay_ **

**Are YOU sure?**

**_… Yes_ **

**Will you stop telling me to kill them?**

**_… Y-Yes_ **

**Are you crying?**

**_Y-Yes_ **

**Do you want to come out?**

**_Y-Yes p-please_ **

**When I let you out will you kill them?**

**_No_ **

**Are you lying to me?**

**_N-No_ **

**Alright I’ll let you out, but only for ten minutes**

**_T-Thank y-you_ **

**But at midnight**

**_T-That’s Okay_ **

“Ben? Ben!” June called out

“ **Wha- huh?** ” Ben replied

“ **Sorry I zoned out,** ” Ben said

“Oh, okay,” June said

June went into the kitchen and started preparing for lunch, Ben took his role and watched over the children. Thomas was going to intervene as he thought this was a bad idea, but Henry stopped him

“Don’t worry, he’s been doing this for five days,” Henry said

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” Thomas said

“Of course, ya didn’t ya dolt!” Henry said, trying to imitate Thomas’s voice. Ben cleared his throat

“ **No, Henry, THIS is how you imitate Thomas,** ” Ben said as he once more cleared his throat

“ **Of course, you didn’t ya’ big dolt!** ” Ben said, perfectly imitating Thomas’s voice

“Well, where did ya learn that from eh?” Thomas said Henry bumped his shoulder

“ **I have my secrets,** ” Ben said, Henry chuckled

“Whatever ya’ say ya’ goofball” Thomas replied

Ben chuckled. It felt good to be surrounded by his loved ones. It was a nice feeling. Yes, he loved warmth, but this was even better than warmth. It was family, and Ben wasn’t going to give this up, not now, not never.


	2. Inside Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben tells promised someone something, and he kept his promise, how will this turn out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a lot of talking and not a lot of details

**_Is it almost time?_ **

**Hold on let me check**

**_Thank you_ **

**Yeah, it’s almost time. Oh, before you meet them, I want to tell you their name’s**

**_Please, go-ahead_ **

**Alright, so the two girls I’m looking at are Beth and Sarah. Beth is the older one and Sarah is the younger**

**_Who’s that?_ **

**That’s Bendy, he is what I was supposed to be**

**_Oh_ **

**Now to my right is Thomas, you remember him, right?**

**_Like the back of my hand_ **

**To my left is Henry and Jason, Henry is the one with the white patch of hair, and Jason is the redhead**

**_Okay, wait who’s the other man and boy?_ **

**Oh, I was going to leave them because they weren’t going to be here tonight but might as well now that you’ve asked. The child is Jonah, and the man is Jones**

**_Huh, Jonah and Jones, that’ll be something to remember_ **

**You think that’s complicated? His older son is named Jone. Try not to get it confused and I’ll give you an extra minute**

**_No promises_ **

**Heh, I knew you were going to say that.**

**_Isn’t that your signature line?_ **

**I guess, I mean honestly, my signature line wouldn’t be words it would be either separating children, sneaking up on June or crying**

**_Wait, who’s June?_ **

**Oh, snap, I forgot to tell you about June. June is the mother of Beth and Sarah, she’s normally in the kitchen, you’ll know her when you see her**

**_What if I don’t?_ **

**Well I have to explain why I forgot who she was for ten minutes**

**_Heh, that wouldn’t be pleasant_ **

**You're telling me, I have to do it**

**_Phew, I don’t have to do it_ **

**Hey! At least try okay.**

**_Fine, I’ll try_ **

**Okay, just so that we are clear if you kill or harm one person, you’re gone**

**_I promise you, I won’t. I honestly want to have a family as well_ **

**Well Bend, you might get one**

**_I hope I do_ **

**Me too**

**_Thanks_ **

**You're welcome**

“Ben? Ben! this is the second time you zoned out today, is there something bothering you?” Henry asked

**_Is that Henry?_ **

**Yup, that’s Henry**

**_Is he nice?_ **

**Very**

“Ben? are you okay?” Thomas asked. Jason looked over

**_Is that Thomas?_ **

**Yup**

**_He’s changed since the last time I saw him_ **

“Ben?” Jason asked

**_Is that Jason?_ **

**Yes, and he is nice as well**

“Ben? ya’ okay there?” Bendy asked, getting Sarah’s and Beth’s attention

**_Is that Bendy?_ **

**Yes**

**_And are those two next to him Beth and Sarah?_ **

**Yup, can you tell which is which?**

**_Um, I think the older one is Sarah_ **

**Nope, other way**

**_Oh, so Beth is the older one and Sarah is the younger one_ **

**Yup**

“June, could you come over here for a second?” Jones asked, getting Jonah’s attention as he swung his head towards Ben

**_Is the other child Jonah?_ **

**Yup**

**_And is the man that just called for June named Jones?_ **

**Yeah**

**_I’m getting good at this!_ **

“Ben, are you okay?” June said as she entered the room and saw Ben staring at the floor

**_Oh, I know this one! J-June, right?_ **

**Your right, you are getting good at this**

**_Thanks, I can’t wait to come out_ **

**And like I promised, you get an extra minute for not making me explain to June why I forgot her name**

**_Yay! Thank you!_ **

**You’re welcome, now if you mind, I need to answer this**

“ **I’m fine,** ” Ben said

“Really? You don’t look fine to me,” June said

“ **Just thinking about tonight** ” Ben replied

“I see, Ben could you come to the kitchen with me for a sec?” June asked

Ben nodded as he got up and headed towards the kitchen

“Well, are you going to do nothing or watch the kids?” Thomas asked Henry

“I think you should do it,” Henry said. Thomas was going to retaliate but Henry gave him that look that he hated seeing

“Fine” Thomas said as he watched over the four

* * *

“ **What do you need?** ” Ben asked

“What’s on your mind, that’s what I need,” June said

“ **Oh, I, uh,** ”

“Ben”

“ **Fine. Tonight, I don’t transform, it’s someone that comes out** ”

“What? Did you just say it’s someone that comes out?”

“ **Yeah** ”

“Huh, well, who is he or she?”

“ **He likes to go by Bend, I don’t know why but he just likes it** ”

“Huh, Bend, welp I have to remember three names that start with Ben now. Where did you meet him?”

“ **Well, we didn’t really meet, he’s more like my hostile side, so he is my other personality** ”

“Hostile?”

“ **Yeah, he did all the work in the studio after Joey. He was in control, I merely watched. And one day, I took over saying that was enough, but since I did that, he’s been berating me with killing anyone I see** ”

“K-Killing?”

“ **Don’t worry, I’ve talked to him, he promises he won’t kill or harm anyone** ”

“That’s great. Wait Ben, was he in control when I took off that necklace?”

“ **He was, but when you did it, he was too confused, and I took over** ”

“Huh, well can I see him now?”

“ **Well he can take over, or he can come out. I let him out every new year for about ten to thirty minutes** ”

“Hmm, well what does he look like?”

“ **…** ”

“Ben?”

“ **He looks like what you saw back in the studio.** ”

“You mean that form you took?”

“ **Y-Yeah, that’s what he looks like** ”

“Well, that’s going to be interesting”

“ **You're telling me, only a few hours have past and I’ve broken him** ”

“ ** _Hey, I don’t want to remember that_** ” Came out of Ben’s mouth, Ben quickly slapped his hands on his mouth

“Was that him?” June asked. Ben nodded

“ ** _What’s the problem_** ” Again came out of Ben’s mouth, muffled by his hands

“Nothing” June said as she lowered Ben’s hands from his mouth

“Nothing’s wrong”

“ ** _I wasn’t asking you June, I was asking Ben over here what the problem was_** ”

“ **You should have warned me before, that’s what’s wrong,** ” Ben said

“ ** _Well I’m sorry, you were having a conversation_** ”

“I can’t believe it,” June said, “B-Bend, right?”

“ ** _Yeah, I guess you could say that, why what’s it to ya’?_** ” Bend asked

“Nothing, nothing at all” June said

**_I see why she so important to you, she so understanding_ **

**Yeah, and you better not take that from me**

**_I promised you I wouldn’t, I want to come out and if sparing is what I have to do then I’ll do it_ **

**Listen here, I believe you, but stop talking like a maniac, you’re not crazy, Joey just made you crazy**

**_DON’T MENTION THAT NAME AGAIN_ **

**Sorry, it just slipped out**

**_That’s okay, I can’t stay mad at you, especially because you’re doing all of this for me_ **

“Hey um Bend, just wondering, what will you look like when you come out,” June asked

“ ** _Well, like Ben said, I will look like what you saw in the studio. But there is a chance I’ll just look like him with the eyes covered and everything_** ” Bend said

“Well, that’s nice,” June said

“Heh, I might have a third devil darlin’,” Henry said, everyone looked at him, was he there the entire time?

“Yeah, yeah I heard everything,” Henry said

“Oh”

“ **Oh** ”

“ ** _Oh_** ”

The three said at the same time, Henry chuckled

“Bend, right?” Henry asked

“ ** _Y-Yeah_** ” Bend replied

“Nice to meet you,” Henry said as he put out his hand

**_What is he doing?_ **

**He’s offering a handshake**

**_A handshake? To me?_ **

**Yup**

**_No one’s ever done that_ **

**Until now, what are you waiting for?**

Bend looked at Henry’s hand uncertainly, he finally decided to shake the man’s hand. Henry chuckled at the reaction time

“First handshake I see,” Henry said jokingly

“ ** _Y-Yeah, Joey-_** “ Henry stopped Bend from continuing

“Don’t say that name, I know the story,” Henry said

“ ** _Really?_** ” Bend asked, curious if the man actually knew

“Yeah, back then no one ever dared to come close to you, Ben’s told me already,” Henry said

**_I like him_ **

**Well he is our real creator**

You bet I am

**_Henry?!_ **

Yeah?

**We have a bond with Henry and-**

Me!

**_B-Bendy?_ **

Ya’ better believe it

**Guys, slow down it’s a little too much for Bend**

**_No, it’s fine, just give me some time to process this_ **

“Hi Bendy” June said

“Hi Aunt June” Bendy said as he walked up to Bend and Ben, and tapped his side

Bend took control of the eyes while Ben took control of the head, the eyes turned into a nice vivid orange color, indicating that Bend was looking through them

A funny idea popped up in Henry’s mind, he walked up to June and whispered something, she giggled. He then did the same with Bendy, he also giggled

“Well, I think you should go look after the children, don’t ya think Ben?” June said. Ben and Bend were confused but Ben soon understood what she meant

He walked into the living room, eyes still glowing orange. The girls immediately noticed this and watched as Ben sat down.

As soon as he sat down the girls berated him with questions

**_W-What should I do?_ **

**Answer the questions**

**_B-But I’ve never done this_ **

**Here I’ll show you**

“Ben, why are your eyes glowing orange?” Sarah asked

“Yeah, why are your eyes orange?” Beth followed

“ **Girls, those aren’t my eyes,** ” Ben said

“Then whose are they?” Sarah asked

“ ** _M-Mine_** ” Bend said wearily

Both girls looked at each other, they looked excited

**_Did I do something wrong?_ **

**Just wait for it**

“Ben, who was that?” Beth asked excitedly

“ ** _My name’s B-Bend,_** ” Bend said a little less wearily

“I like that name,” Sarah said

“ ** _Thank you, Sarah_** ” Bend said normally

“Wait, how do you know my name?” Sarah asked

“ ** _Ben told me your name’s, your Sarah, she’s Beth, he’s Jonah, that’s Jason, there’s Thomas, and finally Jones_** ” Bend said all these names without hesitation

“ **You really did remember all of them did ya’ you show off,** ” Ben said Jokingly

“ ** _I guess I did_** ” Bend said

“Hey Bend,” Beth asked

“ ** _Yes?_** ” Bend replied

“Will we ever see you, like outside Ben?” Beth asked

“ **You will** ” Ben replied

“When?”

“ ** _Tonight,_** ” Bend said

“What will you look like?” Sarah asked

“ ** _Depends,_** ” Bend said

“I hope you look like Ben, that way we have two Ben’s!” Beth said

“You mean a Ben and a Bend?” Sarah corrected

“Oh yeah, Ben and Bend,” Beth said

“ **I guess that would be,** ” Ben said

“We might need another mattress for Bend than,” Jason said

**Huh, looks like Jason thinks your going to come out forever**

**_Could I?_ **

**Oh, um, you know what, I’ll make a deal with you. If everything goes better than expected, I’ll let you stay**

**_Really?_ **

**Yup**

**_Thank you so much! I promise you I will be on my best behavior_ **

**I bet you will**

You should do it, Ben, after all, you two have been together like this for a long time

**You really think so Henry?**

Yup I’m sure

**_Please_ **

**Maybe**

* * *

“Welp it’s almost midnight, I better get the fireworks ready,” Jason said

“ ** _Wait, is it almost time?_** ” Bend asked excitedly

“Yes, yes, it is,” Henry said

“ ** _I can’t wait!_** ” Bend said

“ **Yes, you can,** ” Ben said jokingly

“ ** _You know what I mean,_** ” Bend said

“C’mon let’s take you two outside,” June said

Ben stood up a little wobbly, Bend really wanted to get out

**Calm down will you**

**_Sorry, I’m just so excited!_ **

**I understand that but could you hold off for one second?**

**_Whatever it takes to stay_ **

As June, Ben, and Bend step out, Ben began to wobble even more

“Ben, you okay?” June asked

“ **Y-Yeah, Bend just really wants out** ” Ben answered,

“hey Bend, why do you like to be called Bend?” June asked out of nowhere

“ ** _Well, I never liked Bendy as a name, and I always hated being called it, so I removed the last letter, and I liked it more,_** ” Bend said

“Ah, welp, I’m happy to say it’s officially midnight,” June said

Nothing happened at first, but soon Ben melted into a big pile of ink, separating into two different pile’s

One form grew, it was Ben, and he looked exasperated. The other stayed there for a bit until finally started moving.

A huge form appeared, it looked just like Ben’s monstrous form, but soon it shortened, it fell back into a pill of ink until coming out once more. It looked exactly like Ben, but it wasn’t

“ **It’s good to be out and about,** ” Bend said

“ **Yea, it is isn’t it?** ” Ben said

“ **Oh, Bend, your eyes are still covered,** ” Ben said

“ **That’s why everything black and white, got it** ” Bend said as he wiped the ink that covered his eyes

Ben looked at Bend, they looked exactly like each other

“Well? Where’s my hug?” June said. Ben and Bend chuckled

**Remember, no hurting anyone or anything**

**_Alright, alright_ **

Bend walked up too June, she opened her arms and he leaned in for a hug

Ben walked towards them with a smirk on his face, he sat on a chair that was next to a grill.

Bend was so happy, he never thought he could see the outside world, but he was wrong. This was the outside and it was quite beautiful.

“Alright, let me go get everyone,” June said as she pulled away from the hug. Bend sat next to Ben

“ **So how are you enjoying it so far?** ” Ben asked

“ **I love it! Everything is so colorful, I wished I could see this forever** ” Bend said

“ **Well who knows, maybe you will,** ” Ben said. Bend’s head snapped over to Ben who had the biggest smirk

“ **I hear kids get ready to be questioned buster,** ” Ben said playfully, and as he said, the kids came out

Beth and Sarah were so excited to see Bend, so when June called them out, they bolted for the backdoor. As they opened the door, they saw nothing at first, but Sarah spotted a pair of glowing orange eyes, she ran up to him and sat on his lap

Bend wasn’t expecting this to happen, Sarah threw herself onto his lap without warning, and just like Ben said, she started asking questions,

She knew Bend had limits, and she respected them, Sarah asked her questions slowly, he answered them as briefly as possible, and she respected that.

Beth was still trying to find Bend, all she saw was Ben laughing, wait a minute, that isn’t Ben

Beth ran up to Bend, asking rapid-fire questions, Ben intervened telling her to slow down

“Sorry Ben, I’m just so happy to have another Ben, err, Bend,” Beth said

“ **I understand, just give him some space, alright?** ” Ben said

“Understood,” Beth said

* * *

“Well bud, looks like I have three devil darlings,” Henry said

“Ya’ bet you do!” Bendy said, Henry chuckled

As they walked out the house, they saw Bend already playing hide and seek with the kids

“Hey Bend, can I join?” Bendy asked

“ **Sure, but you better hide,** ” Bend said

Bendy did exactly that as he disappeared into the backyard

“ **Geez, I didn’t mean that fast** ” Bend said Jokingly

“ **Here, I’ll help you,** ” Ben said as he got up and helped Bend look for the three.

* * *

“Welp, I now have three,” Henry said

“Yeah, and two are staying at my house” June said

“They don’t need to, it’s just that they will,” Henry said Jokingly

“And I have to get another mattress and a bunk bed frame that can fit eight-foot-long mattresses,” Jason said

“Don’t worry Jay, I’ll pay for it” Henry said

“You sure?” Jason said

“I mean, they are my devil darlings,” Henry said

“Geez Henry, can you say devil Darling anymore?” Thomas asked

“Oh yes I can” Henry replied

“Why did I ask?” Thomas said

“Your all children you know that?” June said

“Huh, I guess we are,” Henry said

* * *

“ **Ah-ha! Found you!** ” Bend exclaimed as he shined his orange eyes over Sarah, he picked her up and brought her to the patio where she waited for Beth and Bendy to be found

“ **Come out come out wherever you are** ” Bend said

“ **Gotcha,** ” Ben said

“Darn it,” Beth said

“ **Who’s left?** ” Bend asked

“ **Bendy** ” Ben replied

Ben pointed to one side of a bush, he went to the opposite as they started looking for the toon

“ **Ah HA!** ”

“ **Ah HA!** ”

Ben and Bend said, both orange and violet fell onto Bendy

“Ah shucks,” Bendy said

“You guys are really good at this” Beth said

“ **Nah, you're just bad at hiding,** ” Bend said jokingly

Beth and Bendy grunted while Sarah laughed

“Alright, alright, time for fireworks,” Jason said

He walked to the middle of the backyard, placed a big firework, and lit it.

Ben and Bend watched in awe as the rocket shot up and exploded, it shook Bend a bit, but it immediately got his attention again. The colors that came off the firework was pretty

Ben could feel the emotions coming off of Bend, it was amazement and awe.

**You think this is a great feeling? Wait ‘till you feel warmth, then you’ll have felt a great feeling**

**_Is there really a better thing than this?_ **

**Yup**

**_I wish I could feel it, but my ten minutes is almost up_ **

**Are you sure?**

**_Yeah_ **

**Maybe thirty**

**_Wait, do you mean_ **

**Yes, I’ll give you thirty, who knows maybe I’ll let you stay**

Bend approached Ben and put his arm around Ben’s shoulder, Ben did the same

Bend was too grateful, he always thought of Ben as a sissy that didn’t face reality, but now he realizes that he wasn’t facing reality. He hopes Ben forgives him for all of his beratement

Jason didn’t light another one until one from Jonah’s house went off

“This is a losing battle Jones,” Jason said to no one

Jason lit another, and so did Jones. They were in a fight of who had the best fireworks

“They always do this” June said

“Do what?” Henry asked

“Jason and Jones always have a little competition to see who has the better fireworks” June explained

“Huh, why?” Henry asked

“How should I know, it just happens, and we let it be,” June said

“Sounds like Jason to me,” said Henry

Thomas was silent this entire time, he was blown away by the fact that Ben had another personality. He decided to say hi to Ben and Bend

“Hi Ben, hi Bend,” Thomas said

“ **Hi Thomas** ” Ben said casually

“ **Thomas!** ” Bend said energetically. He hugged the man on the spot

“Wow, I knew you two loved to hug me but geez I forget the hug you guys gave me,” said Thomas

“ **I miss you so much** ” Bend said

“I do too” Thomas said

Bend now knew what Ben meant as warmth, every one from his past except Thomas where cold. Thomas was warm, June was warm, everyone was warm. This is what it is to have a family, no wonder Ben cherished this so much

**Now you’ve felt warmth**

**_Thank you for letting me stay longer, I’m fine with going, I’m just happy I got to see Thomas again_ **

**Hold on, I did say I may let you stay**

**_No_ **

**Yup, I’ve decided you’re staying**

**_Are you pulling my leg?_ **

**Nope**

**_Thank you so much! You don’t understand what this means to me!_ **

**I do, I’ve been there**

**_Either way, thank you_ **

**You're welcome**

Ben walked over to June

“Yeah, Ben?” June asked

“ **Is it okay if Bend stays?** ”

“That’s perfectly fine with me, as long as he doesn’t hurt anyone,” June said

“ **He would never. Well, before he would but he didn’t have a family before** ” Ben said

“Then tell him he can stay,” June said

“ **Already did,** ” Ben said

When Ben said this, Bend turned his head around and looked at June with a grateful smile, she chuckled and waved at him.

The firework show continued for a bit until one big bang came from the Jones’s house

“Ha, that’s their last rocket?” Jason said, “Wait until you see this!” Jason said to himself

The last one was the biggest one out of all of them, it covered the entire perimeter of the house. It was easy to say that Jason won this round

As it became thirty past twelve, everyone went inside and prepared for sleep.

Instead of the children claiming they aren’t tired today, they just went up, yawning away

“ **Um, Ben, where will I sleep?** ” Bend asked

“ **Huh, I don’t know, let me ask Henry about that** ” Ben said. He walked over to Henry who said goodbye to Thomas

“Well Ben, looks like you won’t be picking up the girls alone,” Henry said, Ben was confused

“Ya’ know, Bend will be home with you, so you two can pick them up,” Henry said, Ben understood what he meant it’s just that it wouldn’t work

“ **But Bend doesn’t have anything to wear, how will he do it with me?** ” Ben said

“On the contrary,” interrupted June, “I asked Jason to go get some clothes that would fit you, and because you and Bend are the same person, he can just use your clothes” June explained

“ **I mean, I guess that would make sense, but I don’t think he’d want to do it. I mean it is all new for him** ” Ben said

“Well ya can’t knock it ‘till ya’ try it,” Henry said

Henry and June walked upstairs, leaving Jason, Ben, and Bend on the first floor

“Welp, tonight’s gonna be cramped,” Jason said jokingly

“ **Yeah,** ” Ben said

“ **Hey Ben, this just came to mind but where is your room?** ” Bend asked. Ben chuckled as he showed Bend the way to his room

As soon as Ben opened his room’s door, Shadow tackled Ben to the floor, Ben giggled as Bend watched

Shadow saw that there was another Ben, he investigated the other, the other acted weird

“ **Don’t worry Bend, that’s Shadow** ” Ben said as he leaned down and picked up something “ **And this is Cloudy,** ” Ben said

Bend raised his hand slowly, he wanted to pet the kitten. When his hand neared Cloudy, the kitten watched, Cloudy started bumping Bend’s figure, leaving Bend confused

“ **He wants you to scratch his ears,** ” Ben said. Bend slowly brought his hand behind the kitten’s ear and started scratching it gently. He purred at the action

“ **I think he likes me,** ” Bend said

“ **I think so** ” Ben replied

“ **Bend, put out your hand,** ” Ben asked, Bend did exactly that

Ben put the kitten on Bend’s palm, the kitten was scared at first but got comfortable enough to fall asleep on his hand

“Well, I think it’s to sleep,” Jason said tiredly

“ **I think so,** ” Ben said

**Hey Bend, I need to tell you something**

**_What is it?_ **

**Well, tomorrow I’m picking up the kids because June’s sick, and Henry thought it would be a good idea if you came along**

**_Oh, uh_ **

**You don’t need to, it’s just that I’d like some company when I do it**

**_I’ll do it_ **

**You sure? I don’t want you to do something out of your own will**

**_I’m sure, plus, it’s the least I can do for you_ **

**I guess you're right**

As Ben got in his Pj’s, Bend watched, he wondered if he could do that too

“ **What? Never see a toon in pajamas before?** ” Ben said, trying to act serious

Bend snickered, Ben joined him

“ **Alright I guess it is a bit funny, but you have to do that too if you want to sleep comfortably,** ” Ben said

“ **How is that comfortable?** ” Bend asked, snickering

“ **I don’t know, it just is,** ” Ben said

“ **How do I get in them?** ” Bend asked

“ **Huh, good question. I don’t know, what works for me is pulling my quilt over my head, like I toon stepping off stage just to come back in a different outfit** ” Ben said

“ **Give it a try,** ” Ben said. Bend shrugged as he laid on Ben’s bed and threw the quilt over him

Nothing happened at first, but soon a tall figure turned into a short one. As Bend threw the quilt back over, he felt more comfortable

“ **See I told you it would work,** ” Ben said

“ **What happened to the “I don’t know” part, huh?** ” Bend said

“ **I don’t know,** ” Ben said jokingly

“ **It must have gone somewhere else,** ” Ben said

* * *

When Jason walked in the room, he saw not only one Bendy but two, he acted like he was blown away as he pretended to be fighting a strong gust of wind

Both laughed at Jason. Bend already knew he would love this place

“Welp, I think we should go to sleep,” Jason said, clearing his throat soon after

“ **Oh, yeah, sorry,** ” Ben said, as he largened his hand and placed it on the floor

“ **Where will I sleep?** ” Bend asked

“I mean, you and Ben are small enough to fit on that bed and not be completely cramped” Jason suggested

“ **I can deal with that** ” Ben said

“ **Sure,** ” Bend said as he moved to the inside of the bed

“G’night” Jason said

“ **Jason aren’t you missing something?** ” Ben asked

“The lights, right,” Jason said. Ben and Bend chuckled

Jason turned off the light switch and rested on Ben’s enormous hand. He fell asleep almost instantly and started snoring

“ **I got it,** ” Ben said quietly as he raised his thumb

“ **Thanks, I would have never been able to sleep with that snoring** ” Bend said quietly

“ **Nor would I** ” Ben whispered

A brief silence fell in the room

“ **Hey Ben,** ” Bend whispered

“ **Yeah?** ” Ben replied

“ **Thank you, for everything, I don’t think I would be here if you listened to my words back then** ” Bend whispered

“ **Don’t worry, I would have never listened to you, you were too narcissistic** ” Ben whispered

“ **Now can we sleep?** ” Ben asked

“ **Yes, we can** ” Bend said

Ben fell into a peaceful slumber. But Bend, on the other hand, was experiencing a nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay first of, I forgot a movie named Inside out existed when writing this lol. second of all, it's close enough to 5k, and finally, I now know what to write after this chapter. note: I tried to type Bend with capital but AO3 said Nah


	3. The Bond That Connects Us All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Ben and Bend are different, Bend goes through the same thing Ben went through

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> long boi

**_What. W-What is this? W-Why am I back here? T-This isn’t right! I-I thought I was at the house, but I’m not._ **

**“if you kill or harm one person, you’re gone”**

**_I-I won’t, I don’t want to leave. P-Please, I just want to go back home!_ **

**“if you kill or harm one person, you’re gone”**

**_I promise you I won’t, just please let me go home!_ **

**_“_ ** **if you kill or harm one person, you’re gone”**

**_N-No, I won’t, that, that, that isn’t me. Please I just want to go home._ **

**_“_ ** **if you kill or harm one person, you’re gone”**

**_For the final time, I am not going to kill anyone, that isn’t me, I’ve changed, and you know that!_ **

**_“_ ** **if you kill or harm one person”**

**_No, when will you understand? I will not kill anyone or anything, I promised!_ **

**_“_ ** **if you kill”**

**_NO, I will not kill, that isn’t me, how many times do I have to say it?_ **

**“you kill”**

**_I did, but it’s different now, and, and you know it is!_ **

**“Kill”**

**_Stop it!_ **

**“Kill”**

**_I said STOP IT!_ **

**“Kill”**

**_I SAID. STOP. IT._ **

**“Kill"**

**_I. WILL. NOT. KiLl. OR. HARM. ANYONE. ANYMORE. UNDERSTAND THAT!_ **

**“Kill”**

“ **NO,** ” Bend said aloud

He slapped his hands over his mouth, But Ben was already woken.

“ **B-Ben, I’m sorry, I just-** “ Ben interrupted Bend’s rant

“ **Don’t worry, I’ve been there,** ” Ben said, bringing Bend closer to his side

Bend looked up at Ben, Ben looked back with a sincere smile. This cause Bend to cling on to Ben and begin crying

Unlike Ben, Bend knew how to control his cries, but tonight he decided to not as this would indicate he was hurt, badly

Ben tried his best to muffle the bawl of Bend, he got some progress as it muffled about fifty percent of the noise, but still audible. He let Bend rest his head on his shoulder, Bend wrapped his arms around Ben’s torso, holding on like he was in a life or death situation

Ben rested his head on Bend’s head that was resting on his shoulder, he subconsciously patted Bend’s back. It looks like empathy was taking charge, and Ben let it. He knew Bend should feel sympathy one way or another, if he liked it or not, he was going to receive

Ben and Bend were too busy to realize that Jason did wake up, and he saw the entire thing, It was beautiful. The way Ben handled everything, Jason thought he should take notes from these actions.

“You guys okay?” Jason asked quietly. Getting both Ben’s and Bend’s attention

“ **Yeah** ” Ben replied

“ **J-Jason, I’m sorry for waking you up,** ” Bend said sadly

“That’s fine, what’s important is if you feel better or not” Jason replied

He sat down next to the two and brought his hands down to Bend, he looked at Ben and nodded. Ben nodded back as he moved Bend towards Jason’s hands, Jason picked up Bend and let him rest on his shoulder, patting him on the back

Bend cried for a bit, but it died down into a soft sob, the room fell silent apart from the sobbing from Bend. But all of that was broken when two sobs came from outside Ben’s room, the room’s doorknob turned slowly. Opening, it revealed Beth and Sarah sobbing quietly looks like they both had nightmares

They walked in slowly thinking that everyone was still asleep, but they figured out that they weren’t the only ones that had nightmares, it seemed that Bend also had one

“ **Girls, did you have a nightmare?** ” Ben asked. Both girls nodded, Ben patted his bed with his normal hand, indicating that they should sit. They did exactly that

As Beth and Sarah sat on the bed, Bend looked down. The feelings inside of him were unknown

**You’re feeling sympathy if you haven’t realized**

**_Is that what that is?_ **

**Yup, it’s nothing to be worried about, it just makes you a better person**

**_Oh, well, what should I do?_ **

**Help them**

**_But how? I’ve never done this before,_ **

**What was I doing earlier, what is Jason doing currently?**

**_He’s making me feel better_ **

**There, now you know what to do, now do it**

Bend started to wiggle, indicating to Jason he wanted to get down, and so Jason put him down. Bend looked at Ben, Ben nodded at him. He knew what to do

“ **What was your nightmare about?** ” Bend asked wearily, wondering if he said the right thing or not

“I-I thought I was back in that studio place and I was being attacked by those ink thingy’s,” Beth said sadly

“And I thought that the mean lady was going to take mommy away forever and that I would never see her again,” Sarah said sadly

“ **Well, I can promise you this, neither of those two will ever happen to you, I promise,** ” Bend said

“P-Promise?” Beth asked

“ **Promise** ” Bend said

“Pinky promise?” Sarah asked as she put out her pinky

**_What is she doing?_ **

**She wants you to promise that none of that will ever happen**

**_But what is she doing, and how do I reply to this?_ **

**Put out your pinky, bring to hers, and wrap your pinky around hers**

Bend put out his pinky finger and brought it to Sarah’s, she closed her pinky and he closed his

“ **Better?** ” Bend asked

“Better,” said Sarah, Bend tapped Sarah on the head subconsciously. He didn’t mean to, but he did

Sarah giggled, he guessed he did the right thing from the response he got

“Alright girls, you have school in the morning, and you need to sleep,” Jason said

“But dad, the monsters are in our room!” Sarah said

“ **Monsters?** ” Ben asked

“Yeah, monsters”

“ **Here, let me go check it out,** ” Bend said, he got up and headed for the door

* * *

As Bend entered the girl’s room, he found that nothing but Bendy was there, but for some reason Bendy was under his blanket, trembling violently

“ **Bendy?** ” Bend asked, to this the toon jumped

“ **Bendy are you okay?** ” Bend asked again

“B-B-Bend?” Bendy said shakily and afraid

“ **Yeah, it’s me, what’s wrong?** ” Bend asked

“B-B-Behind you,” Bendy said. Ben looked around and saw nothing

“ **Bendy, nothings behind me,** ” Bend said

“T-T-There is,” Bendy said. Bend checked again, still seeing nothing

“ **Alright, I think you need some company, come with me,** ” Bend said. Bendy got out of his bed and scrambled out the room. Bend caught up with the scared demon, keeping him company going to the bedroom

As he opened the door, Bendy scrambled to Ben’s bed and threw himself under the quilt as fast as possible. There really was something if the demon acted like that

“Was their anyone?” Jason asked

“ **I don’t know, I didn’t see anyone, but I think they're telling the truth when they say there is something,** ” Bend said

“Well, where will they sleep then?” Jason asked

“ **I have a solution to that** ” Ben said

“ **Bend can just do the same thing I’m doing with my hand, make it into a mattress** ” Ben suggested

“But can he?” Jason asked

“ **I mean, I could try** ” Bend said. He stopped for a moment before concentrating on his hand. It didn’t work at first but Bendy came through

“You want to imagine what it should look like then concentrate,” Bendy said, and Bend did exactly that, he imagined the girls sleeping on an oversized hand that attached to his body, and then concentrated

At first, nothing happened, but his hand slowly became larger and larger, seizing its growth to where two girls could fit in

At first, the girls were skeptical about this. Yes, they trusted Bend, but their nightmare made it very hard to trust anything. They slowly eased onto his hand, as they got comfortable, Bend got a spot on the bed that would let him sleep comfortably without having a hulking hand crossing over him

Bendy took a spot on the bed as he never took up much space in the first place, Ben and Bend were opposite of each other on the bed, Ben rested his head near the headboard as Bend rested his head near the footboard

Everyone fell into a nice sleep, although, Bend didn’t experience another nightmare, he did come across a hiccup

**“Kill”**

**_No_ **

**“Kill”**

**_No_ **

**“Kill”**

**_Can you stop for a second? Jesus, I’m getting tired of your bull, just be quiet for once_ **

**“Kill”**

**_Oh my god, will you shut it? Your starting to push your limits_ **

**“Kill”**

**_Alright, if you say that word one more time your leaving_ **

**“Kill”**

**_Okay, you know what? I’m going to make my own decision, and this time you won’t be able to berate me with this word_ **

****

**Empathy or Apathy? Why was Henry asking this question?**

**_Wait, are you telling me to choose a side?_ **

**Empathy or Apathy?**

**_Empathy_ **

**Then I’ll leave you alone, now that you’ve made your own decision without needing my help, I now know that you can handle yourself. I’ll be leaving now, and sorry for scaring the kids**

**_Bye, I guess?_ **

**_Huh, finally I can think straight, I don’t need that word in my head again, I just need one. Empathy_ **

As Henry woke up, he could tell Bendy was still asleep, he decided to go wake him and the girls up

When he entered the girl’s room, no one was there. Henry felt his heart stop, where is everyone?

He decided to check on June. she was there. Henry became more and more worried that the three were napped

He went to check Ben’s room and saw something unbelievable, Ben had Jason on his hand whilst Bend had the girls on his hand, Bendy was already half-awake as he sat between Ben and Bend

Henry went upstairs to wake up June, she did

“What is it?” June asked softly

“June, you need to see this” Henry said, giving June no context whatsoever

June got up and followed Henry to Ben’s room. When Henry opened the door, June was blown away, she decided to get her camera and capture the moment

“Welp, let’s wake them up,” June said as she headed for the curtains

“Rise and shine” Henry exclaimed. Bend woke up first and decided to make a little joke

“ **Five more minutes mom** ” Bend said

“Oh, I’m mom now eh?” Henry replied

“Hey Bend, can you wake up the kids, they need to get ready for school,” June asked

Bend was going to do it, he just didn’t know what to do. He decided to shake his hand a bit

Both girls groaned as they were shaken, they wondered who it was that shook them, so they both opened one eye, then the other. They now remember that they weren’t in their room, but Ben’s

Bend also gave Ben a playful kick in an attempt to wake him up. It worked as Ben slowly raised his head and looked around to see where he was

When Ben set his eyes on Bend, Bend pointed at the man sleeping

“ **Might wanna wake him up,** ” Bend said

“ **You might wanna wake up Bendy** ” Ben said

Ben woke up Jason as Bend woke up Bendy

“Five more minutes Henry” Bendy said, unknowing who or where he was

“Alright, so I’m mom and Bend’s Henry, what’s next June’s Jason?” Henry said jokingly

“ **I guess so** ” Bend replied playfully

As Bendy opened his eyes, he realized where he was and felt a little embarrassed for calling Bend or Ben Henry, he didn’t know which as both his eyes were closed when it happened

Bend snickered at Bendy, guess he called Bend Henry

“ **No Bendy, I’m Bend and that’s mom,** ” Bend said jokingly as he pointed to Henry. Bendy snickered

“Oh, come on,” Henry said. He knew it was a joke, but he went with it

As Jason woke up, he greeted everyone and left the room walking towards the phone to call his mom

He entered a number and the ring back started, ending quickly as a voice came through

“Hey mom, I know you have an appointment near four, but could you look after June before?” Jason asked

“ _Sure, is it okay if your dad comes along? He’s been having some troubles with the neighbors recently_ ” Pearl asked

“Yeah, dad can come as well”

“ _Alright we will be there in two hours, see you soon hon_ ”

“See you soon, ma,” Jason said as he hung up the phone, he headed for the kitchen to get breakfast ready for the kids

June and Henry left Ben’s room heading upstairs, the kids followed slowly. There was an audible laugh that came from Ben’s room, Ben and Bend exited the room in laughs

“What so funny?” Jason asked

“ **Shadow was sleeping upside down with its feet in the air like a zombie** ” Bend replied. Both demons fell silent, soon breaking into laughter

Jason snickered, he remembered when his cat did that, it would always put a smile on his face. Looks like Pearl was right, Shadow acted just like there cat.

As the girls came down for breakfast, Ben and Bend helped Henry with his bags. Bendy had breakfast with the girls as it would be a little bit until the next time, they do this

“Hey Ben, can you come over here?” Henry said. Ben walked over to the man

“Remember, whenever you need to, come over and talk okay? I don’t want you to breakdown, got it?” Henry asked sincerely

“ **Got it,** ” Ben said

“And same for Bend, if he needs to clear his chest, bring him over,” Henry said. Ben nodded as both walked back to the house

Because Ben, Bend, and Henry were doing other things, they missed breakfast, well, not Henry, he was eating a granola bar while packing. Ben and Bend sat at the table in their Pj’s and started to eat their tepid food. It wasn’t bad, just weird

As Ben and Bend finished their breakfast, they went into there room and came out as tall figure’s

**_I’ve never eaten before, that was delicious!_ **

**Wait until you try French toast and June’s chili**

**_Wait? I can barely wait for lunch!_ **

**Heh, I knew you were gonna say that**

“Alright bud, we got to go home, say goodbye to Beth and Sarah,” Henry said

“What about Ben and Bend?” Bendy asked

“We’ll see them sooner or later,” Henry said

“Bye Beth, bye Sarah, I’ll miss you!” Bendy said

“We’ll miss you too!” Beth said

“And don’t you forget it!” Sarah said

Henry and Bendy left the house, got in the car, and drove off.

“Girls, you better get ready, the bus will be here in five minutes” Jason called. Both girls scrambled to their room, completely forgetting about last night. They both came down dressed and ready for school. They grabbed their bags and headed for the front door

Jason got his shoes on and opened the door, leaving with the girls in front of him

The bus arrived early, Ben and Bend watched through the window

The girls got on the bus and sat down in their assigned seats, Sarah became extremely quiet for some reason,

“Is something bothering you, sis?” Beth asked

“No, just bullies,” Sarah said

“Don’t worry, during the recess I’ll protect you from those bullies,” Beth said

“Not at recess, on the bus,” Sarah said

“On the bus?”

“You know that new kid Jerod?”

“Yeah, he was picking on my friends”

“Yeah, he’s targeting me now, and it’s on the bus”

“Well lookie here, isn’t it little ole’ Sarah and Beth. The best sister’s ever!” Jerod said standing on his seat, imitating a girly voice

“Shut it Jerod, no one likes you,” Beth said

“HA! I have more friends than you and I’ve only been here for three weeks!” Jerod said

“You’ve been at school during winter break?” Beth said. Everyone laughed at Jerod

“Jerod! Sit down properly” Said the bus driver. He did exactly that but decided to kick the seat as a way of payback

This didn’t go unseen by Ben and Bend, they saw the kid kicking the back of Beth and Sarah’s seat. They were both furious. If they were in Jason’s spot, they would get on the bus and deal with it

As Jason entered the house, both Ben and Bend walked up to him

“ **Did you see it?** ” Ben asked

“I saw it, but it was too late for me to get on,” Jason said honestly

“You know what? You guys can deal with it on the way back, I mean, after all, you are picking up the girls” Jason suggested

“ **Maybe, I think picking them up would be a good scare to the punk** ” Bend said. Ben nodded

“ **Yeah, he wouldn’t expect it,** ” Ben said. Bend nodded

“Yeah, that would work, nice thinking” Jason said. He raised both his hand's palm out, Ben gave Jason a high five and Bend mimicked Ben as he didn’t know what to do

**_Did I do it right?_ **

**Do what right?**

**_The high five_ **

**Oh, you did well**

**_That’s good too know_ **

**Hey Bend, I understand that you’ve never done this stuff before but don’t second guess yourself so much, it makes you feel worse**

**_Thanks, I’ll try not to second guess myself so much_ **

**Your welcome, now let me show you something**

Ben started walking towards the living room, Bend followed. They walked up to the mantle, there was a bunch of photos of June, Beth, Sarah, and Jason. Ben picked up one, at first Bend didn’t understand what it was, but memories of when Ben was in control flooded

“ **Isn’t this… Halloween?** ” Bend asked

“ **Yes, yes, it is** ” Ben replied

Bend didn’t understand why Ben was showing him this, but a stray thought struck his head. If you had a family, it wouldn’t matter if you did something wrong, they would help you and support you so that the next time, you get it right

“ **Do you know why I’m showing you this?** ” Ben asked. Bend nodded

“ **So that I could stop second-guessing myself?** ” Bend replied. Ben nodded

“ **Not only that, try guessing what it is,** ” Ben said. Bend thought for a while, but it hit him.

In his previous thought, he had only focused on they will help you get better that he completely overruled the family part. Was Ben implying that Bend had a family? People that cared about him?

**I am, and you know your right. This is a family, and we care for each other. You do something wrong we will help you. We help you when you need it and you help us when we need it**

**_I never thought about having a family, I thought I was just a guest like I was renting permanently_ **

**But you’re not. You live here, not in that dump we called home before. This, this is home, and this is family**

**_…_ **

**What do you not believe me? I can prove it to you**

**_…_ **

**Alright then, come with me**

Ben walked up to Jason, Bend followed slower and tenser. Ben broke the ice

“ **Hey Jason, can I ask you a family question?** ” Ben asked

“Sure, whatever you need,” Jason said

“ **Is Bend apart of the family?** ” Ben asked. Jason looked up to Ben, then Bend. Bend had the timidest face he had seen

“Do you really think that?” Jason said. Bend became more and tenser as the silence grew longer

Jason looked at Bend sincerely. Bend didn’t look back, instead, he looked to his side, downwards, rubbing his arm with his hand

Jason knew that after this silence not a single word could tell Bend he is in the family. But actions can, and an action he did. Jason hugged Bend and patted him on the back

“You are and don’t you forget it,” Jason said. Bend began to tear, this what Ben meant as _We help you when you need it_

**You're being hugged, you idiot. hug back**

And hug back he did, gripping on the man like super glue, and needing a thousand-foot pounds of torque to remove

Jason couldn’t get out of Bend’s grasp, it looks like Bend thought he was just a guest, like someone paying rent to stay. But it wasn’t that way, they both knew it. Bend was so used to being neglected that he forgot that Jason or June or anyone in this family wasn’t like Joey

**Hey, I think you're pressing a little too hard there**

Bend loosened his grip. This led to a chain reaction of Bend loosening his grip up to the point where Jason could get out, but he chose not too

After a bit of standing around, Bend finally stopped tearing and let go of Jason. Ben brought Bend to the living room and talked to him

“ **So, do you still think you're not apart of the family?** ” Ben asked

“ **No,** ” Bend replied

“ **Then what do you think?** ” Ben asked

“ **I think… I think I’m apart of this family** ” Bend said

“ **And?** ” Ben said

“ **And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep it that way,** ” Bend said. A soft smile grew on Ben’s face, he knew how honest Bend was when he said that

“And I don’t doubt that for even a second,” Jason said. Both looked at him, surprised. He heard it all and he liked what he heard

He sat in between both demons and threw his arms around their necks, he looked at Ben, then Bend. Out of nowhere, he rubbed the top of both heads with his palm. Ben drew back and rubbed his head whilst Bend laughed

He got up and started preparing for his long trip

“ **Jason, where are you going?** ” Bend asked

“Well, I’m a truck driver. I take Lucy over there, pick up some stuff and haul it to its destination” Jason said “And because of winter break, companies that went on break need their materials back up. So, I’ll be gone for a while”

“ **Oh, well, when will we see you again?** ” Bend asked. Jason was a little blown back by the question, he knew Bend cared about him, but not this much. Yes, he would be gone for four days but at this point, the girls got used to it, and June liked the control over the house when he wasn’t home

He thought because Bend was just Ben’s violent side, they would have the same preferences, but it turns out that Bend was completely different from Ben. He knew Ben preferred others over him in cases, but Bend wasn’t like that

“Oh, I’ll be back in four or so days,” Jason said

“ **Four?! That’s too long!** ” Bend said. Jason was even more blown back now that Bend said this, Bend cared more about him than Ben

“Yeah, it is, but it has to be done,” Jason said. He put his hand on Bend’s shoulder

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll be back before you know it,” Jason said trying to reassure Bend

“Now, can you help me with something?” Jason asked. Bend nodded

“Alright, follow me,” Jason said. Jason walked to the garage, Bend followed

He grabbed his toolbox and a box that said “Glow plugs” on it. Bend had no idea what the word glow plug meant

“ **Hey Jason, what’s that?** ” Bend asked as he pointed to the box in the man’s hands

“What, the glow plugs?” Jason said. Bend nodded, “Oh well to explain you need to understand how a diesel engine works”

“See, an engine works like this. There is a piston in a compression chamber, this piston moves up and down creating power to the wheels. Now to power this piston, there are four stages. The intake, the compression, the power, and the exhaust. Now the intake stroke is well, the intake, all the air-fuel mixture comes into the chamber and it pushes the piston down” Jason was interrupted by Bend

“ **What’s an air-fuel mixture?** ” Bend asked

“Oh, I forgot to explain that. The air-fuel mixture is well, air and fuel mixed together” Jason explained

“ **Oh, I guess that would make sense,** ” Bend said

“Now, back to the strokes. The intake stroke pushes air-fuel mix into the chamber which pushes the piston down. The compression stroke is when the piston pushes up compressing the mixture” Jason was once more interrupted by Bend

“ **Wait, how does the piston go back up?** ”

“The pistons are connected to a crankshaft, briefly, the crankshaft is connected to all the pistons, the crankshaft also spins the wheels” Jason replied. He started walking towards the door, Bend naturally followed

“Anyway, back to the compression stroke. The compression stroke is when the mix compresses. Now in gas cars, to get the power stroke, we need a spark plug to combust the mix and push the piston down. But in diesel engines, we don’t need spark plugs because this mixture is already hot enough to combust by itself. The exhaust stroke is when the exhaust opens up and the gas pushes the piston up while exiting the chamber going out the engine to the exhaust system” Jason said

“ **Wait, why do you need glow plugs if the power stroke on your rig doesn’t need a spark plug?** ” Bend asked

“Well there are different types of getting the diesel in the engine, my rig has an indirect injection system, which means that the diesel is preheated in a separate chamber, then pushed into the compression chamber to create the power stroke,” Jason said. Bend nodded

“Anyway, you're going to help me with installing the glow plugs,” Jason said. This left Bend a bit confused, why would Jason want his help, he barely knows how an engine works and Jason wants his help?

Jason got his jacket and shoes on as he headed for the door, Bend followed

“Whoa there, Bend you might want to get some clothes on,” Jason said. Bend was a little confused at first, but Ben stepped in

“ **Bend, come with me,** ” Ben said. Bend followed Ben as they entered their room. Ben opened a closet and picked out a shirt and jacket, he tossed it to Bend

“ **Put those on, if they don’t fit choose something else,** ” Ben said as he left Bend in the room

As Bend cam out of the room, Jason whistled

“Looking stylish,” Jason said playfully

“ **Heh, thanks,** ” Bend said

“Now, let’s go change out some glow plugs,” Jason said as he and Bend left, heading for a big red rig

“Alright, do you know how to open one of these puppies?” Jason asked. Bend shook his head

“Here, let me show you,” Jason said as he came to one side of the hood. He released a hinge and went to the other side of the rig, releasing another hinge

“Alright, I’m going to start lifting the hood, you’ll ease it down, got it?” Jason asked

“ **Got it** ” Bend replied. Jason started to lift the hood slowly, Bend decided to help the man as he pushed the hood up

Jason came back around, climbing on one side of the engine

“Bend, could you hand me my toolbox please?” Jason asked. Bend exactly that, Jason told Bend too watch and he did exactly that for the next fifteen minutes or so

Ben walked outside in his sweater, scarf, and cap

“ **What are you two doing?** ” Ben asked curiously

“Oh, I and Bend were just changing my engines glow plugs” Jason replied

“ **Need help?** ” Ben asked

“No, not really, we just finished screwing everything back on. Actually, you could give the engine a start” Jason said

“ **How do I do that?** ” Ben asked

“ **Well you insert the keys into the slot, ya’ wait for a little before turning the key so that the plugs can heat up enough, and then turn the key** ” Bend replied

“ **Ah, okay, where’s the key?** ” Ben asked

“Here,” Jason said as he pulled out a key “Catch,” He said, throwing the keys to Ben. Ben caught the keys and climbed into the cabin

“ **Where’s the key slot?** ” Ben asked

“Next to the steering wheel, where else would it be?” William said catching Ben, Bend, and Jason off guard

“Mom, dad, your early” Jason said

“Yeah, your dad wanted to get out as soon as possible and when you called, well, he got his stuff and headed for the door,” Pearl said. Bend know who these people are

“Wait a minute, why is there?” Pearl said confused. She pointed at Ben in the cabin with his violet eyes, Then to Bend with his vivid orange eyes

“Why are there two? Did I miss something?” Pearl said

“No ma, you didn’t miss anything” Jason replied

“Then who is this?” William said as he pointed at Bend

“ **That’s Bend,** ” Ben said

“Bend huh?” Pearl said

“ **Y-Yeah, my name’s Bend,** ” Bend said, catching Pearl off guard

Both elder Andersons looked at each other, after a bit, William walked up to Bend

“Nice to meet you Bend. Name’s William, but you can call me Grandpa” William said

“ **Is It okay if I call you gramps?** ” Bend asked

“Yeah, that works,” William said as he put out his hand

Bend put out his hand as well and shook William’s hand, William then went over to Jason where he hugged the man. He then looked at the engine

“Still using indirect injection, I see,” William said

“Yup, don’t need to change it if it ain’t broke,” Jason said in a western voice

“Alright Ben, start her up,” Jason said. Ben turned the key twice, waiting about fifteen seconds before turning the key into the starting position.

Ben held it that way for a bit, but nothing happened

“Alright, stop turning it,” Jason said. He leaned over the engine “Something must be broke” Jason said as he started inspecting the engine

William inspected the engine as well, he found the problem and laughed

“Ya know Jason, you can’t start an indirect injection diesel engine without plugging in the glow plugs,” William said

“Oh, whoops, my bad” Jason said as he started plugging in the glow plugs

“Alright Ben, try now,” Jason said. Ben again shifted the key into its cranking position

At first, nothing happened, but just before Ben let go, the engine sputtered to life

“There we go,” Jason said in a yell. He tricked the ECU by disconnecting then reconnecting the gas pedal sensor. This caused the engine too rev

“Now that’s the sound of an engine!” Jason said

“You guys wanna hear something?” Jason asked. Ben and Bend nodded

“Alright, prepare your buts,” Jason said as he pulled out the cable for a longer period, then plugging it back in, this caused the engine to rev up even more temporarily

“Wait, Ben look at the tachometer on the dash” Jason said. Ben let out a confused hum

“Here I’ll show you where it is,” William said as he climbed into the cabin. He pointed at a meter on the dashboard. It was numbered from zero to twenty-five, there was a need slightly above the zero, it twitched very slightly as the engine was idling. Under the needle was a word that said “x100” on it

Ben guessed this meant that if the needle was at twenty-five, it would be revving at two thousand five hundred revs per minute

“Alright, I’m revving her up, keep an eye on that tachometer,” Jason said. Ben watched the tachometer as the engine revved up. It reached its max and stuck there for a bit, Jason plugged back the cable, but the revs still stayed up

Ben thought something was wrong as the revs didn’t go down. He started to look worried, William intervened

“Flip this switch,” William said as he pointed towards a switch that had the words “Jake brake” under it

Bend flipped the switch and the engine revs began to fall. Jason, Bend, and pearl jumped and the sudden sputtering from the engine

William laughed at the reactions. Ben snickered alongside William, the reactions were pretty funny. He decided that flipping the switch again would catch William off guard

Ben flipped the switch again, this caused William to jump. Ben snickered at the reaction, William turned around to find Ben snickering

“Oh, you turned them back off. For a second a thought a cam snapped” William said. He rubbed the demons head

“Alright Ben, you can turn her off,” Jason said. Ben was about to turn the key into the off position but realized that the engine was still at one thousand five hundred rpm. He flipped the Jake brake on and waited for the engine to hit idling speed, Then he flipped the switch, disengaging the break and pulled out the key

The engine sputtered to a stop. Ben and William got out of the cabin and helped Bend and Jason to push the hood back over the engine

Jason went to the other side of the rig to close the hinge, William closed the other

Pearl was already taking care of June, she got her water and her pain killers

“Thanks, Pearl,” June said

“No problem,” Pearl said. A question popped into her head

“Hey, June, who is Bend? I mean I met him outside but where did he come from?” Pearl asked

“Oh, well, see Ben has two sides, the one you saw during Christmas which I guess was the reasonable side, and the violent side. They both shared the same body, but only one can take control at a time” June said

“Now, every new year’s, he lets out his violent form for a bit.” June was interrupted by Pearl

“Wait did you say violent?” Pearl asked

“Yes, yes I did” June replied

“Isn’t he dangerous around the kids?” Pearl asked

“No, not one bit. He’s more emotional less emotional then Ben, but either than that, he’s harmless. Well unless something happens” June said

“That’s good to know,” Pearl said

“Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, okay so every new year Ben lets Bend come out for a bit, but because this year he wasn’t in the studio, it went a little differently” June said

“I don’t know exactly what happened, but all I know is that Bend was extremely happy when he came out and Ben said something about letting him stay. I don’t know, If you want to know more ask Ben or Bend” June said

“I guess that would kind of make sense,” Pearl said

“Well I need some rest, see you soon. Wait, just to be sure, you're picking up the kids at four, right?” June asked

“Well, no, I’m not,” Pearl said

“Then who is? The kids can’t just stay there!” June said becoming frustrated

“I don’t know, all I know is that it has something to do with Ben and Bend” Pearl replied honestly

“Wait, did you just say Ben and Bend?” June asked, frustrated

“Yes, yes I did” Pearl replied

“ **What’s happening up here? I heard a yell** ” Bend said as he peeked around the corner of the staircase

“Bend, please be honest with me. Are you and Ben going to pick up the kids?” June asked

“ **Yeah, I and Ben are picking up the kids, didn’t Jason tell you already?** ” Bend asked

“I don’t know, I’ve been resting for a long time. Maybe he told me, I think I forgot” June said

“ **Well, we were uncertain at first but now we have to do it,** ” Bend said out of nowhere

“You have to do it? What do you mean?” Pearl asked

“ **Well, when Beth and Sarah got on the bus, I and Ben saw a kid kicking their seat and teasing them. Jason couldn’t get on in time** ” Bend said

“ **We thought that if we pick them up, then the kid will know to back off and leave them alone,** ” Bend said

“Huh,” June said

“Alright, do you know where to pick them up?” June asked

“ **Well, I don’t know but I’m sure Ben knows,** ” Bend said

“May you get him, please?” June asked. Bend nodded as he headed outside

“ **Hey Ben, June wants you,** ” Bend said. Ben Walked towards the house

As he peeked around the staircase, June walked up to him

“So, you and Bend are picking up Beth and Sarah huh?” June said. Ben nodded

“And getting payback on that kid, right?” June said. Ben was surprised she knew

“ **How did you?** ” Ben asked

“Bend” June replied

“ **Ah** ”

“How exactly are you going to get revenge?” June asked

“ **Well, it’s nothing special, but the kids most likely going to try to give them a face when they get off, we will pick them up so when he sees us, he’ll get the fright of his life,** ” Ben said

“I like that plan,” Pearl said

“You know how you can make it better?” June said. Ben shrugged

“See, I am certain that parents will come up to you, so when they go to the other side of the block, you two cover your eyes and put on that grin. When the girls come over like you said that kid will probably be making face’s or something, so when the girls walk over too you, all that kid will see is you two with that face” June implied

Ben started to giggle, Pearl joined him, Ben than burst out into laughter, laughing at the top of his lungs

June joined the two as they all laughed

Bend felt a weird emotion, it wasn’t coming from him, but Ben. He decided to go check it out

When he reached the second story hallway, he saw June, Pearl, and Ben laughing

**_What did I miss?_ **

**June came up with an even better plan**

**_Well, what is it?_ **

**We cover our eyes and put on the grin, just imagine the child’s reaction when he sees Beth and Sarah walking over to us, he’ll be petrified**

Bend stood still for a second, then burst into laughter, alongside June, Ben, and Pearl

After a bit of laughing, it died down. June went back into her room whilst Pearl helped Ben and Bend get dressed up

“Hmm, what should you two wear?” Pearl asked while looking through the closet

“ **Well, I usually wear the gift you gave me,** ” Ben said

“You like them, don’t you?” Pearl said

“ **Yeah, they're pretty comfortable** ” Ben replied

“Alright then, Bend’s turn” Pearl said

**_Who is she?_ **

**Wait, has she not introduced herself yet?**

**_No_ **

**Oh, well that’s Pearl, Jason’s mom**

**_So, grandma?_ **

**Yeah, grandma**

“I think this fits you, Bend” Pearl said as she pulled one white shirt, a grey jacket, and black sweatpants

“What about you Ben, do you think this is perfect for Bend?” Pearl said as she held the clothing items next to Bend

“ **I think it’s perfect,** ” Ben said

“Here Bend, put these on. We will wait outside the room, whenever your done, come out” Pearl said as she and Ben left the room

He put on first the sweatpants, then the white shirt, and finally topped it off with the jacket

He stepped out of the room, being greeted by a whistle from William. He guessed from this reaction that William found it nice as well

“See, I told you it was perfect” Pearl said

Bend felt good too, he felt like he was in the zone even though he didn’t do anything

“Alright, I got to head out, I have a big haul ahead of me,” Jason said

“Bye son,” William said

“Bye hon,” Pearl said

“ **Bye Jason** ” Ben said

“ **Bye Jay** ” Bend said

Jason chuckled, he didn’t need all these goodbyes as it was only a couple of days, but it was nice to know that when he gets home, people are excited.

Jason hopped into ‘Lucy’ and started the engine

Ben, Bend, and William watched Jason start the rig. Ben and Bend wanted to see if it moved, William just liked the way his engines sounds.

Jason saw the three watching from the window, he decided to wow the audience by ‘rolling some coal’

This was an illegal act, but Jason had always wanted to save the environment, he installed a couple of extra catalytic converters to stop most of the rolled coal

He one day went over to the emissions center to see if what he had done was legal, they had given him a thumbs up, as long as he doesn’t do it for an elongated amount of time, he should be fine

He also set up a small system that would filter out and diesel that got out of the truck

He flipped the smoke switch and stepped on the gas pedal. A White-ish smoke came from the exhaust of Jason’s engine, William chuckled whilst Ben and Bend watched in awe

“He always shows off with his four-cat system,” William said

“ **Four-cat?** ” Bend asked

“Yeah, Jason like to keep the environment clean, but he likes being a showoff, so when he does this trick which is called rolling coal, these cats, which stand for catalytic converters, get rid of the normal black color of the exhaust and make them barely street legal” William explained

Something caught both Ben’s and Bend’s attention, his exhaust pipes were glowing white, William spotted them looking at it and explained

“Those are the cats doing the work” William explained

The truck drove off, Ben and Bend now had nothing to do, until William tuned into a sports game

“Darn it, there’s only hockey,” William said

“Hey, how about I tell you two a little story?” William suggested

“ **Go ahead, gramps** ” Bend said

William started a story of when his engine blew and how he got home, Pearl joined in on these stories. Pearl checked in June every thirty minutes or so. Everything was fine

A couple of hours past, Pearl made lunch and William kept telling stories of his long hauls. Pearl checked her watch and realized that they needed to get to their appointment. Thankfully, the hospital was near June’s house, so after their checkup, they could return to the house quickly

“Alright William, we need to get our checkups,” Pearl said

“Welp, we will be back in two hours or so, make sure the kids finish their homework before anything, got it?” William said

“ **Got it, See you later gramps,** ” Ben said

“See you two later,” Pearl said as she left the house

“ **Welp, what do we do now?** ” Bend asked

“ **I don’t know, this is my first time doing this, I’m just as confused as you** ” Ben replied

“ **Should we ask June?** ” Bend said

“ **Nah, our best bet is to wait outside until the bus comes,** ” Ben said

“ **Yeah, I guess your right** ” Bend replied

“ **After you,** ” Ben said

Bend and Ben exited the house and sat on the patio where they waited for the bus, everything was fine until a neighbor waiting for their kid saw them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAYA, I now know how a diesel engine works (because I spent a day learning about indirect injection and how diesel engines don't have spark plugs) Second, I may or may not have based Bend's appearance of a drawing by @chane-ne which link is right here: https://chane-ne.tumblr.com/post/184655714926


	4. Our drawing, Our feelings, Our life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bend now goes through what everyone has gone through at least once, a mental breakdown. but can he control himself?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> longer boi

“I wonder where’s June, she’s normally right here. Maybe I should check the porch” The woman said

When she walked into the lawn she was petrified, two… things were sitting on the porch. One had violet eyes, wearing a Christmas sweater, scarf, and cap. The other one had Orange eyes, wearing a white shirt, grey jacket, and black sweatpants

Who were these people? Wait a minute, I recognize that tall and lanky figure. Didn’t I see it in… Halloween? Why was this man wearing a Halloween costume in the middle of winter? Maybe I should ask

Ben and Bend were chatting until a feminine voice arose

“Um, hello? Who are you two and where’s June?” The woman asked

“ **Name’s Ben,** ” Ben said

“ **Name’s Bend,** ” Bend said

“Okay, nice to meet you two, but where is June?”

“ **She has strep,** ” Ben said

“Strep throat? How?” The woman asked

“ **She couldn’t zip her jacket up in time, she got what we thought was a cold, but it was strep,** ” Ben said

“And, what are you two doing here?” The woman asked

“ **Picking up Beth and Sarah,** ” Bend said

“Wait, did you just say picking up Beth and Sarah?” The woman asked

Ben and Bend nodded, she continued, “Are you guys related somehow?”

“ **You could say that,** ” Ben replied

“I don’t know why, but I think I’ve seen you before,” The woman said

“ **Halloween, I was the demon with his eyes covered,** ” Ben said

“Alright, then why are you still in your costume in the middle of winter?” The woman asked

Ben and Bend looked at each other, then began to snicker

“ **Ma’am, this isn’t a costume,** ” Ben said, trying his best not to laugh

The lady went whiter than a wall, she pointed at both shakily. Both started to chuckle

“I-If that isn’t a costume, then what is it?” the woman asked fearfully

“ **Our normal look** ” Bend said

“Your n-normal look?” She asked

“ **Yup,** ” Ben said

“And June, Jason, Beth, and Sarah are okay with t-that?” she asked

“ **Yup,** ” Bend said

“ **I guess you could say we're family,** ” Ben said

“Family?” she asked

“ **Yeah, family** ” Bend replied

“Alright then, I guess that would be a bit better,” she said, “Wait, what are you two?”

“ **Well, we both are demons,** ” Ben said. The woman’s jaw dropped, Ben continued either way. “ **But we don’t act like demons. We aren’t made of skin or anything, just Ink** ” Ben said

“You're made of Ink? How?” the woman asked

“ **Alright, I’m going to talk for both of us. And this will be very brief because we hated our pasts** ” Ben said

“ **So, we are twenty-seven-ish old, but we act like teenagers. Now, you can’t just get an ink demon on the spot, you need to summon one. This man summoned me, Bend was my other side. We as one never liked our ‘creator’, he beat us, screamed at us, locked us up, lied to us, and never told who our real creator was** ” Ben said, The woman interrupted

“Wait, who is your real creator?” She asked

“ **Henry, June’s brother** ” Bend replied

“Henry is your creator?” she said, both nodded, “That would explain why your related,” she said

“ **Anyway, one day he took control and escaped, now this part is a bit cruel, so prepare yourself. When he broke out using my body, he found the man’s office and made sure the man never saw the light of day again** ” Ben said

“Wait, is that man Joey Drew?” The woman asked

“ **DoN’t SaY ThAt NaMe** ” Bend growled, Ben held him back

“ **Please, do not mention the man’s name, it upsets him,** ” Ben said

“ **I’m sorry,** ” Bend said, starting a soft sob

The woman watched as the demon started to tear up, they really hated this man

“No, it's me that should be sorry,” The woman said

“ **Anyway, after that he took control for a long time, wait a minute. You just wanted to know how we were created, why am I continuing?** ” Ben asked himself, The woman shrugged

“ **We were summoned from a satanic ritual, and we ran away, miss formed,** ” Ben said

“Is there by chance a proper form of you?” She asked

“ **Yes, in fact, there is,** ” Ben said

“What’s his or her name?” she asked

“ **His name is Bendy, he lives with Henry,** ” Bend said

“Wait, by chance is Bendy wee tall?” she said as she lowered her hand to the size of Bendy

“ **Yeah, that’s him** ” Bend replied

“Oh okay. Wait, I haven’t introduced myself. My name’s Lora” Lora said

“ **Lora, that’s a nice name,** ” Bend said

“Why thank you, Bend,” Lora said

The three chatted for a bit, Ben and Bend told them about Jerod and how they were going to spook him,

“What will you do exactly?” Lora asked. She got her answer as both grinned manically and ink-covered their eyes

“ **This is what we’ll do,** ” Ben said. Both stopped grinning and wiped the ink of their faces, leaving Lora petrified

“ **Lora, are you okay?** ” Bend asked as he put an arm on her elbow

“That… is… perfect” Lora said. Both demons grew confused

“I’ve heard rumors about this Jerod kid, he even tried to bully my son,” Lora said

“ **Wait, who’s your son?** ” Bend asked

“I have two sons and a baby daughter, the oldest is named Jone, the second oldest is named Jonah, and the young one is named Rose,” Lora said. Both demons looked at each other, was this Jone’s and Jonah’s mother?

“ **Wait, your Jonah’s and Jone’s mother?** ” Ben asked

“Yeah, why do you ask?”

“ **Well, if you haven’t realized but during winter break, Jonah was coming here to play with the girls, I watched them,** ” Ben said

“That’s why your name rings a bell, you told Jonah to visit Beth and Sarah,” Lora said

Before anyone said anything, Ben shot out of his seat. Bend followed

“Hear **that?** ” Bend asked

“ **It’s a Jake brake,** ” Ben said

“What’s a Jake brake?” Lora asked

“ **It’s how you engine brake a diesel engine,** ” Bend said

“So?” Lora asked

“ **Busses have diesel engines,** ” Bend said

“ **The bus is here,** ” Ben said as he rushed to the sidewalk

Lora and Bend caught up with Ben. They all waited on the sidewalk

The bus pulled over and lucky for them, Jerod was sitting on the inside seat, they were sure he was going to try to tease them when they got off

“C’mon sis, it’s our stop,” Beth said as Sarah stood up

They both headed for the front of the bus, and they got off.

Sarah went running across the street and Beth looked back at Jerod, Jerod focused Sarah

Because Sarah ran to what she thought was her mom, Jerod eyed her down. He soon stopped and teasing, his mouth dropped

What he saw was unbelievable, two eight-foot demons were looking at him, with manic grins and eyes nonvisible

The entire bus saw it as they looked out the window. As soon as Sarah approached Ben and Bend, their grins went away and were replaced with soft smiles. Their eyes were uncovered, one glowed Violet whilst the other glowed orange

As soon as Beth saw Jerod’s face change, she swung her head at what she thought was her mom. It was Ben and Bend, their eyes where covered and had that smile

Beth was a little scared at first, but once Sarah walked up to them their faces went from creepy to normal

“ **Sarah are you okay?** ” Ben asked. Sarah looked up immediately and hugged Ben, everyone watching from the bus was in awe, even the bus driver

Soon, Bend took charge as he crossed the street, and entered the bus

He walked up to the kid and looked at him

“ **What’s your name son?** ” Bend asked

“J-Jerod” Jerod replied

“ **Alright, Jerod tell me something. Why where you intimidating Sarah and Beth?** ” Bend asked

“I wasn’t! I promise” Jerod said

“ **Oh really, let see what the bus thinks,** ” Bend said, he straightened and exclaimed, “ **Listen here, tell me the truth when I ask you this. Was Jerod bullying Sarah and Beth on the bus?** ”

There was a brief silence, the kids knew he did it but thought they would get bullied, someone spoke up

“Yes,” the child said

“ **Son, what’s your name?** ” Bend asked

“My n-name’s Baron. S-Sorry, I stuttered” Baron said

“ **Why do you stutter?** ” Bend asked

“Well, I’m not really s-social and don’t have a lot of friends. I try to stay silent to not get bullied” Baron said

“ **Well, anyone on this bus won’t bother you know that you have a friend named Bend,** ” Bend said as he stood up

“ **So, only one person here that’s antisocial is the only one speaking? I thought he was anti-social, but you all are more than Baron over here** ” Bend exclaimed

“He was”, “Yes”, “Of course he was”, and “Duh” grew from the fellow passengers

“ **Thank you for being honest,** ” Bend said. Leaning over Jerod again

“ **Now listen here, I’m going to ask you again, WHY where you bullying Sarah and Beth?** ” Bend asked

“I don’t know” Jerod whispered

“ **You don’t know?** ” Bend said

“Yeah, I don’t know,” Jerod said louder

“ **There has to be a reason** ” Bend implied

“Fine, I just felt like doing it,” Jerod said

“ **Huh, well let me teach you something,** ” Ben said, he raised his voice so that everyone could hear what he said

“ **Don’t do something if you don’t have a reason to do it** ” Bend exclaimed

“ **Got it?** ” Bend asked

“Got it,” the entire bus said, including Jerod

“ **Thank you, now I’ll be on my way,** ” Bend said

“Wait is it my stop?” Jonah said

“I don’t know, maybe look out the window,” Jordan said

“Crap, my mom’s going to be pissed,” Jonah said as he rushed to get his bag on

He went as fast as he could to get out of the bus, he hadn’t realized that Bend was on as well

Bend her stomps coming from behind him, he checked to see Jonah running for the front. If it weren’t for Bend, Jonah would’ve run into the dashboard of the bus

Bend moved to the side, latching his arm on the child’s bag and let it extend. Jonah suddenly stopped and was flung back. He thought he was going to fall, but a large gloved hand caught him and prevented him from falling on his back

“ **Ol** **é,** ” Bend said. The bus started clapping at the save Bend pulled off

“ **Next time Jonah, try not to run full speed into the dash, you’ll end up like your brother,** ” Bend said Jokingly

Jonah almost said Ben, but something wasn’t right, his eyes where orange. Wait a minute, Bend’s eyes where orange

“Bend?” Jonah asked

“ **You better believe it. Now can we get off this bus so that the kids can go home?** ” Bend said

Bend and Jonah walked off the bus and waved at the kids, they waved back

Bend and Jonah crossed the road, Lora was already talking to Ben

“Hi, sweety! Did you have a good first day at school?” Lora asked

“Yeah, it was good, thankfully not a lot of homework,” Jonah said

“Oh, you’ve met Ben and Bend, right?” Lora asked

“I’ve met Ben, but not Bend” Jonah replied

“ **Keep it a secret** ” Bend said

“ **I want to prank Jones and Jone the next time they visit,** ” Bend said

“How are you going to pull that off?” Jonah asked

“ **Well, if you don’t tell them, they’ll probably call me Ben,** ” Bend said. Jonah giggled, that would be funny

They all chatted for a bit, then headed their ways

Once Ben, Bend, Beth, and Sarah entered the living room. The girls put their bags down and took out their schoolwork

They headed for the living room and sat on the floor, they placed their work on the coffee table and started working

“ **Alright, grandma and grandpa will be home in an hour,** ” Ben said

“Wait, grandma and grandpa are coming?” Sarah asked

“ **They where here before you guys got back, they left an hour ago for their appointment, they’ll be back in an hour** ” Ben explained

Both girls started their homework, Ben checked on June whilst Bend watched over the girls

Bend watched the homework they did, they first started with grammar, science, social studies, and then math

“Hey Beth, can you help me with this question?” Sarah said

“Sure,” Beth said, “Which question?” Beth asked. Sarah pointed at a math question

Beth helped Sarah with her question and Sarah understood the operation, she applied the operation on the other identical questions

Beth also ran into a problem, she didn’t understand the question given to her. Bend saw Beth struggling with the question, Bend decided to see which question it was

It was a seventh-grader question, but why would Beth get a seventh-grader question? She hasn’t even graduated elementary

The question was a transformation, a fraction to a percentage, it read “a) 2/3 = %” Bend decided to help Beth with this question

“ **Need help?** ” Bend asked

“Yeah I can’t understand what this is,” Beth said, frustrated

“ **Well, I can tell you this, you weren’t taught this** ” Bend said

“I’m aware,” Beth said

“ **Alright, first we have the fraction, it’s two on three so what would it be?** ”

“I don’t know,” Beth said, Bend drew a perfect circle with his finger

“ **Now, we have two on three, let’s say we have three on three, what is it?** ” Bend said

“I don’t know”

“ **Here let me put it in a division for you, we have two being divided by three, I’m not asking for the answer, but what would it equal if I divided three with three?** ”

“You’d get one, three divided by three is one”

“ **Exactly, now let’s put it in a fraction, three divided by three is the same of three on three** ”

“Oh, so it’s another way of doing a division”

“ **Kind of, it would work, but it’s a bit stranger, better off sticking to what you have** ”

“Alright”

“ **Now, let’s say I have two on three, in this circle, what would I draw?** ”

“You’d separate it in three parts”

“ **Clever,** ” Bend said, he separated the circle perfectly into three parts, “ **Now, if we have two on three, then we have to color in?** ”

“Two parts”

“ **Thirds, they’re called thirds.** ”

“Oh, so two thirds”

“ **Exactly,** ” Bend said, he colored in two-thirds of the circle, “ **Now, we need to do some divisions** ”

“ **Do you like divisions?** ”

“I loooove divisions,” Beth said, elongating the word to show how much she liked these questions

“ **Good, then this shouldn’t be too hard. Now let’s take one hundred, and divided it by three** ”

“Why one hundred?”

“ **Because we are trying to make a percentage, a percentage needs to be lower than one hundred** ”

“Ah”

“ **Now, let’s divide one hundred by three** ” Bend said

“Alright,” Beth said as she started plugging away

She continued for a bit before giving up, the division was infinite

“ **Problem?** ” Bend asked

“Yeah, I can’t solve this division,” Beth said, frustrated

“ **That’s because you can’t, see thirds and one hundred are very weird** ”

“Why?”

“ **Because if you divide one hundred with three, you're going to get thirty-three comma three three three three and so on. But, if you multiply this number with three, it should turn back into one hundred correct?** ”

“Yeah, it should”

“ **But it doesn’t, it leads to ninety-nine comma nine nine nine nine and so on. So instead of writing ‘till infinity, we put a little line over the first number that repeats. Because we are doing two on three and not one on three it will be six that get the line** ” Bend said. He took his figure and wrote sixty-six comma six with a vinculum over it

“What’s that called?” Beth said as she pointed at the vinculum

“ **It’s called a Vinculum, it says that the numbers under it repeat to infinity** ”

“Ah”

“ **So, now we have our answer to one part, the second part is next. This part isn’t written but you need to do it. See you have a proper fraction, the numerator which is the number on top is smaller than the denominator, which is on the bottom. Or in your case numerator is to the left and denominator to the right** ”

“Okay”

“ **Am I going to fast, or do you understand?** ”

“No, I understand, I’m just tired”

“ **Now, this number I just gave you isn’t correct to an extent, try to guess why** ”

“Wait, is it because we were basing it off one hundred instead of one?” Beth said. Ben put out his hand, Beth gave him a high five

“ **Now, we have to figure out what it would be in one. It can’t be more than one, there’s your hint** ”

“If it can’t be more than one, and it was six galore. It would be zero comma six with a vin-vinculum on top right?”

“ **Exactly, now you have the decimal of two on three, we need a percentage so we will multiply it by one hundred** ”

“Wait, how?”

“ **See this comma? Because the zeros are already there, we just move the comma forward** ”

“So, it’s back to sixty-six comma six with vinculum?”

“ **When did you get so smart?** ”

“I don’t know, I have a school”

“ **Alright, now we need to finish this and put it into a percentage, do you think you can do it?** ”

“Heck yeah I can,” Beth said, she started to write a percentage

When Bend saw the number, it looked good until Bend saw an unneeded Vinculum on the percentage

“ **You put vinculum’s in decimals, not percentage’s,** ” Bend said as he wiped his finger over the vinculum

“Oh, so I only put vinculum’s in fractions and decimals, got it”

“ **Nope, only decimals** ”

“Oh, okay”

Beth continued the seventh-grade questions with ease

**Someone’s in a good mood**

**_What can I say, I taught Beth how to do seventh-grade math’s_ **

**Wait, why did she have seventh-grader mathematics?**

**_I don’t know, she doesn’t know, we don’t know. Maybe the teacher got some papers mixed up_ **

**I don’t know either**

**_Meh, just go with it, what’s done is done_ **

Once the girls finished their homework, they brought down their toys to show Bend. So many different toys or stuffy, so many names to remember.

Bend was having fun playing Sorry with the kids, it was nice and relaxing

“Wait a minute, Beth we are forgetting something,” Sarah said as she ran up to her room. Beth shrugged as she caught up with Sarah

Bend was in silence, he liked the silence, it was nice to have nothing bothering you, or screaming, or yelling, in general, nothing happening

This silence was interrupted by stomps of feet from the staircase. Bend looked around, only to have his jaw drop

Beth was holding a giant Bendy plush and Sarah was holding a giant Boris plush. Where did they get these? The only place you could get these big plush’s but, it was in the studio

Ben came down to find Bend with his mouth opened, he could feel a strong emotion resonating from Bend

**You okay?**

**_H-H-How, did they g-get these_ **

**I brought them from heavenly toys**

**_B-But why?_ **

**Well, the kids were showing me their toys, and it reminded me of these**

**_But, doesn’t it scare them?_ **

**Why would it scare them? They're just toys**

**_But, it’s from the studio,_ **

**Listen, I think you need to talk with Henry once grandma and grandpa come home**

**_I-I… o-okay_ **

**Plus, I wanna learn some drawing**

As soon as Ben said that line, Bend’s face sprung. The wish from all those days ago finally was coming true, they’d spend time with their real creator

Ben probed for Henry

Yeah?

**Henry can me and Bend come over today?**

Sure, why not?

**Remember that flashback, from Christmas night, I wished for something**

Wait, you want me to teach you how to draw?

**And Bend, if it's fine**

I’ve been waiting to teach you two for a while now. I was waiting for you guys to ask

**Oh, well, we’ll be over in thirty minutes or so**

Thirty minutes? That’s problematic

**Why’s that?**

My work ends in an hour

**Oh, okay**

No, wait, maybe while waiting, you could look around my house for a change

**Yeah, I guess**

Oh, and if Bendy left ink on the floor could you please call him in and teach him how to pick it up? I’m running out of acetone

**Sure, it’ll be interesting to see how Bendy reacts to us appearing out of nowhere**

Oh, heads up, he will be playing with the neighbors so, yeah

**Alright I’ll keep it in mind**

**“So, what did he say?** ” Bend asked

“ **He said yes, we’ll go when Pearl and William get home,** ” Ben said. The girls overheard the conversation

“Aww, why are going?” Beth asked

“ **Well, Bend needs some time with Henry. He’s been going through a lot recently** ” Ben said

“Well, I hope you get better,” Sarah said. She was sad to know that Ben and Bend were going away for a bit

“ **T-Thanks** ” Bend said shakily

The tone in his voice didn’t go unknown by Beth, nor Sarah, nor Ben. The girls walked up to him and gave him a big hug, Ben joined making sure that Bend the most comfort possible

Bend was overjoyed but at the same time overwhelmed, he knew this was what a family was, but it was too much for him to take in.

Unlike Ben, who eased into the family thing, Bend was thrown in without instructions. It was more complicated then he thought

But as he thought, it wasn’t the family part that was hard, it was the emotions and getting used to your new safe place

Bend spent all his time in that studio, it was his home. Now, everyone that loves him is asking him to throw it away. But the past is too strong, it’s pulling back

**_It’s pulling back_ **

**_It’s pulling hard_ **

**_It's pulling harder_ **

**_It’s hurting_ **

**_It’s hurting more_ **

**_It’s painful_ **

**_It’s dangerous_ **

**_It kills_ **

**_I don’t want to kill_ **

**_I don’t want to be pulled_ **

**_I don’t want to hurt_ **

**_I don’t want to be in pain_ **

**_I don’t want it_ **

**_I can’t pull back_ **

**_I can’t pull back harder_ **

**_I can’t defend myself_ **

**_I need help_ **

**_But who will help me?_ **

**_Who will help me?_ **

**_Help me_ **

**_Help_ **

**_Please_ **

**_Henry_ **

Bend? are you okay?

**_Henry_ **

Oh no, please don’t tell me

**_HeNry_ **

Bend you need to fight it! C’mon, you’ve gotten this far, don’t give in!

**_HeNrY_ **

C’mon! I believe in you Bend! fight back!

**_HeNrY H-H_ **

What?

**_HeNrY, H-HeLp_ **

I want to! But I can’t do it if you give in

**_HENRY, HELP ME_ **

I-I… I can’t!

**_PLEASE, HELP ME_ **

I can’t! you need to fight it! Please!

**_Please_ **

What?

**_Please_ **

Bend, I want you to live a life, so please, tell me what’s wrong

**_Me_ **

No, don’t believe that

**_I’m wrong_ **

No, you’re not

**_Yes, I am_ **

NO, you’re not!

**_YES, I am!_ **

NO, YOU’RE NOT!

**_YES, I AM!_ **

LISTEN. TO. ME. YOU. ARE. NOT

**_BUT. I. AM._ **

**_ACCEPT IT_ **

**_SAY IT_ **

**_TELL ME THAT I’M THE PROBLEM_ **

**_TELL ME THE TRUTH_ **

**_TELL ME_ **

**_PLEASE_ **

But I am telling the truth

**_NO_ **

I’m telling the truth

**_N-NO_ **

I am

**_But it isn’t possible_ **

But it is

**_I can’t have a happy ending_ **

…

**_I can’t Henry, just please, give me this one thing_ **

But, I can’t. it’s impossible

**_W-WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO BE IMPOSSIBLE?!!?!_ **

It isn’t

**_WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT ISN’T?!?!?!?!_ **

Look at yourself, if everything was impossible, you wouldn’t exist

**_…_ **

That’s why I can’t tell you you’re the problem

**_…_ **

You aren’t the problem, something possible was the problem

**_What was the thing that was possible?_ **

Joey Drew

**_DON’T_ **

Listen hear, if you want to live better. Forget. That. Name.

**_HOW?!? IT’S PRACTICALLY ENGRAVED IN MY HEAD_ **

Then erase it

**_What?_ **

You heard me, erase it. Ben’s already done it, now it’s your turn

**_What do I erase?_ **

Ask Ben, he did the day after Christmas

**_T-Thank you,_ **

Don’t thank me, thank yourself for existing

“ **H-Hey Ben, c-could I talk to you?** ” Bend asked shakily. Ben got up and headed to the kitchen where Bend followed

“ **What is it?** ” Ben asked

“ **I need help** ” Bend said seriously

“ **With what?** ” Ben asked

“ **My head** ” Bend replied

“ **Your head?** ” Ben asked confused

“ **That name, I need to get it out, I need to erase it,** ” Bend said

“ **What name?** ” Ben asked

“ **J-J-Joey D-D-Drew** ” Bend said, stuttering like theirs no tomorrow

“ **How?** ” Ben asked

“ **I don’t know, I’m asking you for help** ” Bend said

“ **How? I haven’t done it either** ” Ben said

“ **Not according to Henry, apparently you did it the day after Christmas,** ” Bend said

“ **The** **day after Christmas? Wait, don’t you mean Jone?** ” Ben asked

“ **I guess, all Henry told me is that it was the day after Christmas,** ” Bend said

“ **Yeah, that was a day after Christmas, not the day after Christmas,** ” Ben said

“Boys? Where are you two?” June called

“ **What do I do?** ” Bend asked

“ **You tell about the past, that means your past, not mine,** ” Ben said

“ **M-My past?** ” Bend asked shakily

“ **Your past and your past only** ”

“ **But to who?** ” Bend said

“ **Well, you can tell the girls, June, Jason, or grandma and grandpa. It's up to you** ”

“ **It’s up to me** ”

**I thought you could make your own decisions**

**_I can and why are you back?_ **

**Well, it’s because you still can’t make your own decision. I’ll leave when you make your decisions**

**_But that isn’t fair!_ **

**Nor is life**

**_That’s it, I’m telling June and the girls, they deserve to know_ **

**Wait, what? You already made your decision? That’s impossible!**

**_Nothings impossible, if everything was impossible then I wouldn’t exist now, would I?_ **

**W-What, H-How are you?**

**_It’s life and for you my friend. It isn’t going to start_ **

**No, you can’t do that!**

**_I made my decision, I don’t want you making my decisions anymore!_ **

**N-N-No! Y-Y-You can’t! It’s not, NO**

**_Too bad, so sad_ **

**_Aaaand, you're gone! NOW I can think clearly_ **

“Beth, Sarah do you need help?” June asked

“I’m fine,” Sarah said

“Same here, I just need to figure out this transformation,” Beth said

“Transformation?” June asked. Beth pointed to the questions she was doing, they were all right

“Were you taught this at school in one day?” June asked

“No, Bend taught me,” Beth said

“Bend?” June asked

“ **We read all of Joey’s books, two of them where math books, we learned everything we need to know about math’s** ” Ben whispered

“Wow, I’m impressed,” June said

The girls finished their homework and started watching tv, June stayed down and chatted with Ben. Here enters Bend, all tense. He sits in between June and Ben

“ **June, Ben, can I tell you two something?** ” Bend said

“Sure, what is it?” June asked

“ **Well, if it’s fine with you, I’d like to tell my past. To everyone here** ” Bend said shyly

“You mean, After Joey?” June said

Bend tried his best not to lash out, “ **Yes, after JoEy** ” Bend said angrily

“I’m okay with it, but it might scare the girls,” June said

“ **Could you check with them please?** ” Bend said

“Sure,” June said. She kneeled down to Sarah and whispered something in her ear, Sarah looked at Bend, then back at June and nodded. June repeated the same thing with Beth, she replied exactly the same

“They’re ready when you are,” June said. Beth and Sarah brought themselves closer too Bend. Bend decided to sit on the floor

Bend sat their silently, wondering where he should start. His attention was brought to a head that landed on his left lap, it was Sarah.

“It’s okay Bend, it always hurts,” Sarah said

“Yeah, and it’ll keep hurting until you tell us” Beth forwarded. This put a smile on Bend’s face

“ **A-Alright, I’ll start from the beginning, And just to be sure, there are violence and death in the story** ” Bend wasn’t taking any chances

“We know,” Sarah said

“ **Okay, W-When we where summoned, there was two people. Thomas, and J-J-Joey. J-J-Joey wasn’t very nice, in fact, he was the opposite of nice. Thomas was nicer, but he kept his distance** ” Before Bend could finish, the front door knocked

June got up and answered the knock, it was Pearl and William.

Before both said anything, they saw Bend on the floor with Beth and Sarah to his side, Ben was sitting on the couch behind and presumably June was sitting on the other end of the couch

“He’s telling about his past” June said, “There are violence and death,” June said warning the elder Anderson’s

They both took seats in the living room and started listening, June returned to her seat and Bend Started over

“ **So, when we were summoned, there were two people in the room. J-J-Joey, and Thomas. J-J-Joey wasn’t very nice, in fact, he was the opposite of that. He was so dead set on his goals that he mistreated anyone that told him otherwise. Thomas, on the other hand, was nicer. Yes, he didn’t like me, but he was nicer to us. We never wanted to hurt or scare anyone, but we couldn’t do that. People would look at us and run, ending up on the floor, hurt and crying for help. We would try to help these people, but they took off running, well most did, some got up and thanked us, but those people were fired immediately. Joey was very strict with us, if we wandered close to the door, he would scream at us and make us drop to the floor and tremble** ” Bend said, shaky

“What do you mean as we?” Pearl asked

“ **It’s coming,** ” Ben said

“ **When we accidentally dragged our finger across the wall leaving an ink trace, he would beat us. If we did anything except the things he said, he’d beat us. One day he invented Alice Angel, but he did something else then what he did with us. He took life for a life, Susie Campbell, the original voice actress for Alice volunteered to be sacrificed, she came out perfect. We had discovered this, and we wanted to see her, we were told not to get near her, but we were too excited, we were no longer the only one. When we entered, she was nice, her skin was smooth, and she allowed us to touch her cheek, but just like always, we messed it up. Our hand stuck on like super glue, and once we got it off, we ran and hid, we were so sad that we ruined our only chance of someone liking us. Joey found out, but he acted like everything was fine, until the thirty-first of December. He sent us to the second floor, we didn’t know why, but if we didn’t get a beating, we would do it. When he sent us down, no one was there, but the music was playing, it was nice and soothing. We tried to find the source, and we did find it, but in a closet, we wondered why it was here. The closet was furnished to be like a home, and it was, the door was slammed shut and locked from the outside.** ” Bend said

“That’s horrible! Who would do that?” William said

“ **Joey would** ” Ben replied

“ **Inside we had a phonograph, some records, a projector, film’s, and a calendar with a red x over the thirty-first of December. That day was the last day we saw the outside, well, at least Ben. Wait, I skipped something. Before Alice, we wandered lower into the studio, and we found something that changed our look on J-Joey. It was a tape, by none other than Henry Ross. What it said was what follows,** ” Bend said, he cleared his throat and imitated Henry’s voice “ **Only two weeks into this company and already it’s gotten interesting. Joey is a man of ideas… and only ideas. When I agreed to start this whole thing with him, I thought there would be a little more give and take. Instead, I give, and he takes. Still, someone has to make this happen. When in doubt, just keep drawing Henry. On the plus side, I’ve got a new character I think people are going to love** ” Bend said, he cleared his throat again and continued

“ **When we heard that, we melted in joy and anger, I melted in anger whilst Ben melted in joy. He melted in Joy because he had someone that would presumably care about him more than Joey, and I melted in anger knowing Joey lied to us again. Now back to where we were, We were tricked into getting into the closet, that would be our home according to Joey, he walked in and told us that he is keeping us in here until we transform into what we were supposed to look like. Once he left, we started crying, Ben cried for help, I cried from deception, I made a promise, and I kept it. I promised Ben that no matter what, I would look out for him, be with him, protect him. Here enters Thomas, He sits down next to us, and does something terrible, he apologizes for Joey’s mistakes, the man is so self-centered that his own wingman apologizes for his doings without even being told too. Thomas said he will visit us for thirty minutes every day, and he did, well, until Joey found out and fired him on the spot** ” Bend said as his voice began to harden to a strong and deep tone

“ **Then we spent three years, THREE YEARS, in that damned closet, as I said, I would protect Ben, and so when we got out, I took control, I did everything, I did it. Okay, this the violent part. When we got out and I took control, I set my mind to one thing and one thing only, Joey Drew. Through all the employees that went through to get to him, and once I was there, I entered. He was frantic, he tried to hurt me, not surprisingly, it failed, and I got the upper hand. I gave him one in the stomach, then one in the chest, shoulder, leg. And once he was on the ground, the head. The one foot that I hated the most, my bad foot, did the job, and it did it well. When I left the office, there were only a few people working, the others were either home or working on a ritual. Sadly, for the ones who were working on a ritual, they dropped an inkwell over the ritual and it turned them into something else, they were trapped and angry. The ones working on the other hand, well, they got to see me, dragging an old man that they called their boss, I dropped him on the floor and looked at everyone, they could leave. And they did, not a single scream, they all walked by me and patted me on my shoulder** ” Bend said

“You killed Joey Drew” Sarah stated

“ **Yes, yes I did, and I have no regrets,** ” Bend said, “ **After Joey, not much happened, I kept getting angry at all the noise from the pipping and ink dripping everywhere, I got mad easily. Ben kept asking if he could come out, I let him once a year, every thirty-first of December. And that’s really it, I kept dragging souls back to the ink to shut them up, they just made more and more noise, Alice kept aggravating me by cutting the cutouts,** ”

“Who’s Boris?” Sarah asked

“ **Boris, he was the only person I left alone, he never bothered anyone, he just did what he does best, scavenge. He made it far, but Alice wanted to be perfect again, she kept taking Boris clones and using them to fix herself up, she took the last one away from me.** ” Bend said

“ **At least Henry tried to save him,** ” Ben said

“ **I guess,** ” Bend said

“ **Henry was the only good thing that came out of Joey Drew Studios, even though we didn’t meet him immediately, and even though I lashed out at him, we still liked him. We still preferred him even though he ran from us, we just couldn’t show it, we weren’t taught how to by Joey. We were only taught hatred and deception and anger. When Henry showed up and turned on the machine, well, we wanted to see him and try to get his help. But we were never taught how to approach someone, so when he appeared, we launched ourselves at him, trying for his face. He fell to the floor and ran. We snapped and chased him down, hurt him, clawed him, break his bones. But he pressed on, and he got out with Bendy, we had the chance to leave, and we took it** ” Bend said

“Until?” Beth asked

“ **Until, Linda. She figured out that we killed Joey, and she blamed it on Henry for not staying with him and protecting him from the dangers of his actions. She summoned us and put us under a spell. If we disobeyed, then we would get shocked right in the neck. The first shock was enough to put Ben aside, I went through the shocks from there on out, it hurt, but not as much as it hurt Ben. I did everything to keep my promise, that’s why we were always so angry. Ben asked to come out, and I never let him but new year’s. Her plan was to capture June, Bendy, and the girls, That would lead Henry over to the studio. He captured June for her main plan, he captured Bendy to keep him from intervening with her plan, and she captured the girls just in case. The plan was horrid, I hated it and Ben hated it. She would make me capture Henry, then she would force Henry to go into his inky form and mind control him, while mind-controlled, he would chase June down and ultimately kill her. June got a head start before this had started, I tried to stop the ritual, but she shocked me and shooed me off. While June was running, I was recovering on the floor. June came across me, she took off the collar and made me so confused that I didn’t know what to do anymore. Ben took advantage of that and took over, repressing me in the audience.** ” Bend said

“ **After that, I don’t know what happened. Ben was in control and I was resting, all I remember is Halloween** ” Bend said

Bend had expected the kids to no longer like him, in fact, he thought that they would run for their lives. But they didn’t. Instead, they looked at Bend with sincere smiles. Bend refused to look back, he let ink drip down and cover his eyes, trying to get the girls away. But they stayed. He tried putting on the grin that he always had to get them away from him like he was telling them he was the danger. But they didn’t move. In fact, they moved closer to him

Bend didn’t know what to do, he started to growl and let his inky veins grow on the floor, still trying to tell the kids to run and hide. They still didn’t move. He started to hiss as he let his left leg turn around into a backward leg. They didn’t move. He changed his tongue back to a forked one and let it spring out and flop frantically like a snake’s tongue does. They still refused to move. Bend was out of tricks, he was in his most uncomfortable, most alien, and most fearing state. But they stayed near him, they just stayed, they didn’t run, nor hide, nor scream, nor nothing

Bend started to revert these transformations as they felt wrong. He slowly raised his head and looked at June, then Beth, then William, then Pearl, then Sarah, and finally Ben. They all looked either concerned or sincere

Bend started sniffling, June put her hand on Bend’s left shoulder. He began to tear, Beth rested her head on his side. He began to sob, William got up and kneeled near Bend, putting his hand over June’s. Bend began to cry, Pearl got up and put her hand on Bend’s back, rubbing it. He began to Bawl, Sarah rested her head on Bend’s legs. He began to wail, Ben put his hand on Bend’s right shoulder

Bend was again overjoyed and overwhelmed, these are the emotions, this is the hard part, this is what Ben went through

Bend curled up and continued to wail, Sarah stayed on his lap, limiting his movements. She mainly did it so that he wouldn’t run away, and it was working

“Bend,” June said

“You don’t need to hide anymore,” Beth said

“You have a family,” William said

“And family sticks out for each other” Pearl said

“You’re not a monster,” Sarah said

“ **Your Bend, Bend Ross, and you have a family that cares about you** ” Ben finished

Bend slowly stopped wailing and started to sob again. If he heard correctly, Ben Just called him Bend Ross, isn’t Henry’s last name Ross?

“ **B-Bend R-Ross?** ” Bend asked, tearing

“Bend Ross” June said

“ **Bend Ross** ” Bend said calmer

“I thought he was an Anderson” Pearl said

“No, he was made by Henry, he is Henry’s son,” William said

“ **Henry’s son** ” Bend repeated. He was baffled, he hadn’t even realized that he was a Ross, let alone have a last name. He was grateful to know that everyone was honest with him. Unlike Joey

“Would that make Ben and Bendy Ben Ross and Bendy Ross?” Sarah asked

“ **Yes, yes it would,** ” Ben said

After a little more crying, Bend finally stopped. As soon as he stopped, he wanted to resume, Sarah gave him a big hug, he hugged back almost immediately, gripping tight

Everyone else joined in. Pearl, William, June, Beth, Ben, and Sarah where all hugging Bend, this time he didn’t cry, but smiled. He knew how to handle the comfort now, he no longer needed to be overwhelmed by this, he can just be overjoyed

Once the hug ended, Ben and Bend got up. They headed for a wall, Ben opened a portal. June jumped in front of Ben, blocking his path

“Where are you going?” June asked

“ **To Henry’s,** ” Bend said

“Oh, Henry’s,” June said, “Wait, why are you two going to Henry’s house?” June asked

“ **I thought it would be a good idea for Bend to spend some time with Henry. Plus, I wanna learn how to draw** ” Ben said

“Oh, yeah, I guess that would be good. I mean, after all, he is your creator. But why do you need to learn how to draw? You can already spell perfect letters and such” June stated

“ **June, I know how to write, not draw,** ” Ben said

“ **Can we go now, please? I want to see Henry’s house** ” Bend said

“Sure, go ahead,” June said, she stepped out of the way. Both demons waved goodbye and entered the portal

“Mommy, will we see them again?” Sarah asked

“Of course, we will, they aren’t leaving forever, there just spending some time with their dad” June said

“Ya’ know, father and son time” William forwarded

“Wait, if their dad is Henry, then who’s their mom?” Beth asked

“I… don’t know about that one” June said

“We’ll just stick with Henry being the dad,” June said

* * *

Entering Henry’s house, there wasn’t much to see, it was just a simple two-story house. The kitchen was connected to the open concept dining room, which was connected to a living room of sorts

There were a few pillars but other than that the first floor was completely open

They headed upstairs, there were eight doors, why were there so many doors? They decided to investigate, they started with the door closest to them

The door to the right of them lead to the guest bedroom, the door after was the guest bathroom, then the master bedroom, then a closet

Once they reached the final three doors, two of them weren’t painted, the one between the two were, they decided to check the painted door first

It was another bathroom, why would there need to be three bathrooms on the second floor? Either way, they stepped up to the farthest door from the stairwell

When they opened it, they’re jaws dropped, Henry was making a room for someone to stay in. it didn’t take long for them to realize the nine-foot-long bed frame and mattress

“ **Looks like Henry’s been busy,** ” Ben said

“ **I wonder why he has these rooms for us,** ” Bend said

“ **Maybe if we need a little break from June’s house, we could come here,** ” Ben said

“ **Yeah, maybe,** ” Bend said

They then walked to the other room, when they opened the door, they were blown away

It was a desk, with papers all over the floor, and inkwells under the desk. It looked just like Henry’s desk back at the Studio

Ben and Bend approached the desk and picked up the drawing placed on the table. Bend and Ben began shedding tears

It was them, with everyone they knew, Thomas, June, Pearl, Sammy, Susie, even Norman. It was incomplete but still an art piece, how nice and realistic it looked, the smooth lines, all of this beauty coming from one man. Imagine all the people he trained, how well they had drawn, they must have been miracle workers and yet Joey still took them as peasants

Ben placed the drawing back on the table, Bend began to look at the pictures of what Henry drew

They kept looking until one caught their eye, it wasn’t by Henry as it was signed Tommy. Ben and Bend guessed that this was someone Henry taught, as the art was very similar

“ **Did Henry teach Tommy this?** ” Bend asked

“ **How should I know, I wasn’t alive when it happened,** ” Ben said

“ **What about that flashback?** ” Bend said

“ **Good point,** ” Ben said as he started concentrating, the answer popped up

“ **He did, and Tommy left when Henry left,** ” Ben said

 **“No wonder he wants to teach us, it’ll be a nostalgia trip for him,** ” Bend said

“ **Meh, as long as I get to leave this house knowing how to draw, I’m fine,** ” Ben said

“ **Same here. Now, how ‘bout we give Bendy a little spook?** ” Bend said

“ **I’m up for it,** ” Ben said

* * *

“ **Alright, so all we are doing is going out onto the porch, lean on the door frame, and have one of our legs over the other while our hands are crossed?** ” Bend said

“ **Yeah, it sounds pretty good too me,** ” Ben said, “ **Do you want to add anything? I mean their parents are here so** ” Ben stated

“ **Nah, this is fine,** ” Bend said

Both got up and headed for the door, they came across a small pool of ink,

“ **Well, now we have a reason to cross our arms,** ” Bend said

They stepped over the puddle and opened the door. They positioned themselves exactly how they described it, one leg over the other, arms crossed and leaning on the door frame

Just like Henry said, the toon was playing with the children, he looked fairly engrossed in his game, one tap on the shoulder and he would jump a foot high

Ben decided to wait for Bendy to be closest to the house, once Bendy got close he opened the door and slammed it closed. Bendy jumped more than two feet in the air when it happened, he looked around frantically trying to find the source. Instead of finding the source he finds to chuckling demons propped against the front door frame

“Give me a sec” Bendy told the children. He walked up to Ben and Bend

“What was that for!?!” Bendy exclaimed. Both chuckled

“What so funny huh?!” Bendy again exclaimed. Ben and Bend burst into laughter

Bendy gave both a kick in the shins, they stopped laughing and looked at him, but the laughter overruled the pain

Ben finally calmed himself down enough to open the door, revealing a puddle of ink

“Crap! I promised I wouldn’t do this again” Bendy stated

“ **Ah, it’s easy to clean up,** ” Ben said

“Yeah, with acetone it is,” Bendy said

“ **Nope, even easier than acetone,** ” Bend said

“What is it then?” Bendy said in an impatient and angry manner

“ **Just tell it to come back,** ” Ben said

“Tell, it, too… what?” Bendy said

“ **To** **come back, me and Ben do it, there really is nothing to it,** ” Bend said

“So, I just tell it to come back?” Bendy asked

“ **Yeah, and if that doesn’t work, tell it to come back then wipe your finger over it, kinda like an eraser,** ” Ben said

Bendy concentrated, thinking of only one thing. Come back.

The ink started to boil and started to move, it crept up to Bendy, then shot itself into him, it was very unpleasing

“Like that?” Bendy asked

“ **Exactly, just try not to force it back or else it’ll shoot into you,** ” Ben said

“Can I go play now?” Bendy asked

“ **You can** ” Bend said

Bendy ran off to his friends whilst Ben and Bend took a seat on the porch. Bendy answered a lot of questions about who those two are, on the porch. He simply answered Ben and Bend

Many parents were starting to tense at the sight of the demons. Yes, they were used to Bendy, but that’s Bendy, these two aren’t

One child was brave enough to walk up to the two and ask some questions

“Uhm, h-hello?” The child asked. Ben and Bend turned their heads to the child

“ **Hi,** ” Bend said

“H-Hi, is it okay if I ask you guys questions?” The child asked

“ **Uh, sure, I guess, I mean there’s not much too ask,** ” Ben said

“What’s your guy's name’s?” the kid asked

“ **Name’s Bend,** ” Bend said. He made his orange eyes glow a little brighter to show that he had the orange eyes

“ **And I’m Ben,** ” Ben said, copying what Bend did with his eyes

“ **What’s your name?** ” Ben asked

“James,” James said

“ **Nice to meet ya’ James** ” Bend said

James asked simple and common questions, like “how old are you?” and “What’s your favorite food?”

It was a little strange, I mean, you don’t just walk up to two demons and start asking questions. But it went well none the less

After a bit James went back to the game, his parents called him

“Yea mum?” James said

“Did those two hurt you?” She said as she frantically searched James for any signs of violence

“Tell us if they did, I’ll have a ‘talk’ with them,” His dad said

“They did nothing wrong dad” James reassured

“Did they tell you two say that?” His dad asked, voice beginning to grow angry

“No dad, they didn’t tell me to say that” James implied. The dad still thought his son was lying

He marched towards Ben and Bend, they were laughing, probably at him. He got angrier as he approached

When he walked up to the two, they were facing each other with their eyes closed. He raised his fist and shot into Bend’s stomach

The demon didn’t even flinch, nothing happened, this made the man more and angrier. He shot another fist at Bend, but this time, his hand was caught by Bend’s gloved hand

Ben continued to laugh, Bend stopped laughing and looked at the man angrily

“ **What are you doing?** ” Bend asked

“N-Nothing,” The man said, scared

“ **I don’t think punching a person in the stomach is nothing,** ” Bend said. The man got the fright of his life. The demon felt it, but he didn’t react

“W-Well I would have to do it if you hurt our son!” The man exclaimed. Ben stopped laughing at looked at the two

“ **Sir, we did nothing wrong to your son,** ” Ben said

“Then why was he lying about you guys telling him to say he’s okay?” The man stated. Both demons looked confused

“ **I… don’t know what you’re talking about,** ” Ben said

“ **We said nothing about this, all we did was answer his questions,** ” Bend said

“Answer… his… questions” The man repeated

“ **Yeah, answer his questions. Why would you think your own son lied to you?** ” Ben asked

“I… didn’t think of that,” the man said

“ **Duh, of course, you didn’t think of that. You don’t just walk up to a demon and expect him to flinch at a whimsy punch ya’ dolt** ” Bend said

“That was a whimsy punch? That had to have been my best punch yet” The man said

“ **Well, keep practicing,** ” Ben said

“ **Ben over here can knock out a teenager without touching him,** ” Bend said. This got a laugh from Ben

“Huh?” The man said

“ **I was dealing with a break-in and apparently the son convinced his dad to do the dirty work. I followed the parent home so that I could get some money for the broken window. The money was coming from the teen's allowance and he got so mad that he tried to body slam me into the wall. I just stepped out of the way and boom, he knocked himself out** ” Ben said

The man tried his best not to laugh, but he failed. He burst into laughter at the story. Ben and Bend joined him

The laughter died down, and three started a conversation

“ **So, then the next day, I figured out that he made June’s house, and that the window he broke was the hardest one to make, he had a spare thankfully.** ” Ben said, “ **But I wasn’t there for the window, I was there for Jonah’s toy, and guess what** ”

“What?” the man said

“ **Jone was there, and he ‘apologized’ but I was smart enough to know it was a lie,** ” Ben said

“So, what did you do?”

“ **I just gave him a ‘little’ scare,** ” Ben said, he got a glance from the man, “ **Alright maybe not a little scare** ”

“ **What I did was pretty complicated, I got my hand to the side of his bed** ” the man interrupted

“How?” he asked. Ben shot his hand down into the porch floor. Nothing happened at first but then something gripped the man’s leg

He jumped. Ben and Bend giggled,

“ **That’s how,** ” Ben said as he released his hand and brought it back up

“ **And that brought his attention to his slightly opened room door, I manipulated the ink to make a face that looked like me, and he bought it** ”

“And then what?”

“ **I just whispered, “Don’t lie to me” very creepily, that got his attention,** ” Ben said

“I would be petrified if that happened to me,” the man said

“ **Yea, I would scare you so much that you’d run faster than a toon** ” Ben said

“ **Wait a second, we don’t even know your name** ” Bend stated

“Oh, sorry, my name’s Ryan”

“ **Nice to meet ya’ Ryan** ” Bend said putting his hand out

“Nice to meet you two Bend,” Ryan said as he shook Bend’s hand

“Now I gotta go and explain why I punched you in the gut,” Ryan said

“ **Goodluck with that** ” Ben said

Ryan whispered something in the two’s ears, and they nodded

They waved goodbye, Ryan headed over to his wife

“Well?” She said

“Everything went fine,” Ryan said

“Really? Even after you punched the man in the stomach?” she said

“They're not humans, Susan,” Ryan said

“Then what are they?” Susan asked

“ **Where demons** ”

“ **Where demons** ”

Came from behind Susan

“Yeah, what they said,” Ryan said

Susan was petrified, Ryan started to snicker whilst the two demons burst into laughter

“D-Did I just hear that?” Susan asked

“ **Yes, yes you did** ”

“ **Yes, yes you did** ”

Again, repeated behind Susan

“Don’t worry they don’t bite” Ryan said

“They’re demons! Of course, they bite!” Susan stated

“Well, if you don’t believe me, maybe you should go ask them,” Ryan said

“I think I’ll stay here,” Susan said

“So, you believe me?” Ryan said

“I guess, I mean I don’t have another option now do I?” Susan said

“Well you can always go and ask them” Ryan repeated

“That is a big no” Susan said

“What are you two laughing about?”

Ben and Bend were caught off guard as Henry spoke to them

“ **Hi Henry** ” Ben said casually

“ **Henry!** ” Bend said as he jumped up and hugged the man

“Hi Bend, hi Ben,” Henry said

“ **So, Henry how was work?** ” Ben asked casually

“Nothing different, lifting heavy pieces of metal, laying concrete, getting yelled at over a megaphone,” Henry said

“ **Wait are you a construction worker?** ” Ben asked

“Yup, I should probably find a new job though, my backs killing me,” Henry said

“Alright, who wants to learn how to draw?” Henry exclaimed

Henry, Ben, and Bend entered the house. Henry headed upstairs into the room with the unpainted door

When he opened the door, he could see that some papers were moved around, he looked back at Ben and Bend and gave them a warm smile

He crouched down to see which they moved around, he saw the ones from years ago, the ones he drew during the war to keep him sane, and the originals. But one stood out, Tommy’s drawing

“He was young,” Henry said, “And he hated Joey just like me” Henry stated, “But that boy, he was great at what he did. He always performed, he always pushed himself to meet the deadline Joey set. At the age of nineteen, that child was a miracle worker”

“ **Tommy was nineteen?** ” Ben asked

“Yup, he worked hard to get money for his family, as soon as he graduated, he found himself the job of animating. Joey never set any standard’s for workers, as long as he has body’s he barely needs to pay, and Tommy was one of them” Henry said

“ **Why did he quit?** ” Bend asked

“Well, I supported him through the entire process of learning how to draw, he was like a mini-me, and because he was a mini-me, when I left, he joined, along with six others that I taught”

“ **Man, I’m happy I killed that man,** ” Bend said

“I wish I could’ve done, to be honest with you two”

“ **What?** ” Ben said

“ **You wanted to kill Joey?** ” Bend said

“Of course I wanted to kill him, not physically, but I wanted him to see what his ego has caused, if I had the option, I would put him in a loophole where he lives what we went through,” Henry said, “Linda was too dumb to realize it, and now, she’s dead”

Both demons felt a little embarrassed, after all, one of them killed one and the other killed the other

“Alright, what theme do you guys wanna work on?” Henry asked

Ben and Bend didn’t know until an idea popped up

**Should we?**

**_We should_ **

“ **Family** ” Ben said

“That’s a great theme,” Henry said, “What about you Bend?”

“ **Family** ” Bend said

“Alright then I think where doing family,” Henry said jokingly

Ben, Bend, and Henry sat in that room for what felt like seconds but really was three to four hours

Bendy joined them. Now all three were learning how to draw like there father, like there dad, like a Ross

Bend was overjoyed, his wish came true, after all these years of neglect, deception, pain, punishment, he finally got his wish, the one he always wanted

Ben was also overjoyed, sitting there with Henry made him feel less like a demon, and more like a living being, and he was

Bendy was Happy to know that Ben and Bend where happy, their lives have been filled by one man, and now that man doesn’t exist in either's brain, they are happy, to Bendy, that’s all that mattered

Henry, there where no words, motions, numbers, or anything to express his feelings. He never knew he would be a father, he never wanted to be a father because he thought it would be too hard, but he was wrong, it’s easy once you get the past behind you, they're living in the present and that’s what mattered

People that live in the past are scared of the future, people that live in the future are scared of the past, and people that live in the present are scared of both, but people in the present adapt faster. That makes them human, even though Ben and Bend weren’t humans, they felt like it. Who cared if they scared others, who cared if they were both lanky, who cared if their past was horrid, They didn’t and that’s what mattered to them

* * *

“I think we're done,” Henry said. He put up the drawing

“What do you guys think?” Henry said

“ **We're** **missing one thing,** ” Bend said. He took the paper and wrote something on the bottom of the page. Ben, Bendy, and Henry followed

“ **Now it’s done,** ” Ben said

Henry picked up a frame under the desk and placed the drawing in it

He brought the drawing down to the living room and hung it, it was above the mantle, showing it was the most important

The family consisted of many people they knew

Sammy, Susie, Norman, Thomas, Pearl, William, Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Smith, Ryan, Susan, James, Lora, Jones, Jone, Jonah, Jason, June, Beth, Sarah, Ben, Bend, Bendy, and finally, Henry

“That has to be my best drawing yet,” Henry said

“ **You mean our drawing?** ” Ben said

“Yeah. Our drawing” Henry said

Henry rapped his arms around Ben and Bend, Bendy jumped onto Henry’s back

They admired the photo from afar

Ben teared

Bend cried lightly

Bendy smiled warmly

Henry smiled, then tore, and fell into a cry

Ben, Bend, and Bendy asked what’s wrong

“It’s beautiful,” Henry said as he cried

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this took a while, yes, I procrastinated a bit, yes I got angry at my friend because he didn't know his time zone (wait why am I putting that in here?) and I'm happy with what came out, this had to have been the funniest and most floof story I've done. Hope y'all like it!


	5. All it takes is a drawing and an engine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Bend may seem to be the same, but Bend likes someone more than Ben. Bend is about to show it to said person

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all like more engines

A portal opened up. Ben, Bend, Bendy, and Henry walked through. Henry looked a little sadder than normal. June realized this instantly

“Hen, are you okay?” June ask. She hadn’t realized the frame he had in his hand

When he turned it around to show what it was, she also fell into tears. This made Beth, Sarah, Pearl, and William more curious

June took the frame and hung it above the mantle, soon, everyone tore a little

“That’s… that’s” Pearl stuttered

“Beautiful” William continued

The girls ran up to Ben and Bend, giving them big hugs as their token of appreciation, they tapped both heads

Everyone grouped around the four, wrapping their arms around each other, just like the drawing

**You did good**

**_No, you did well_ **

_Are you two crazy? You both did well_

No, all of us did great

_Yeah_

**_Yeah_ **

**Yeah**

**_Thank you, Henry,_ **

Don’t thank me, you guys did the work

_But you taught us how to do it!_

But did I do it?

**_Well, you partially did_ **

You know where I’m getting at

**_Do I? I don’t think I am_ **

Do I have to treat you like a kindergartener and say a word syllable by syllable?

**_Maybe you do, maybe you don’t_ **

After a bit of admiration, everyone slowly eased back into what they were doing

Henry and Bendy returned to their house after thirty minutes or so. The house was back to normal, well, as normal as having two eight-foot-tall demons in your house goes.

_Four days later_

“Alright, Jason. There’s your engine, and what else did you want?” Barry asked

“A small Wankel if you have any” Jason said

“Why in the hell would you need an Apex eating engine? You already got yourself an indirect injection engine, an opposed-piston diesel that is supercharged and turbocharged I may add, and now you want a model Wankel engine?” Barry questioned

“Yeah, why do you not have any?” Jason asked

“No, we have many, but for who?” Barry replied

“Remember my nephew?” Jason asked

“Yeah, I remember Bendy, why is it for him?” Barry asked. Mac overheard Jason and Barry talking about Bendy, he decided to bud in

“That thing ain’t yer nephew ya clod, it’s just a lump of… uh, what is it made out of?” Mac said, knowing Jason would fight. Jason was about too until a pretty funny thought crossed his mind, Mac never knew about Ben and Bend, he could use that to his advantage

“Actually Mac, if you recall, he is my nephew and he is made of ink. But Barry, the Rotary isn’t for him” Jason said. This made Barry and Mac confused

“If it isn’t for Bendy, then who is it for?” Barry asked

“I’ll be right back,” Jason said as he speed-walked to Lucy and looked for the photo. Barry and Mac where left confused

“What’s happening?” Mac asked Barry. Barry shrugged

“Ah-ha” Jason said as he pulled out two photos. one of him, the girls, Bendy, Ben, and Bend sleeping in the same room, and the other of Ben and Bend during new years

He hurried back to Mac and Barry, slamming the first photo on the counter

“That is Bendy, that’s Ben, and that’s Bend,” Jason said as he pointed out Bendy, then Ben, and finally, Bend

“So, you have more things that you call nephews? You’ve lost your mind Jaye” Mac stated

“Buuut, Ben and Bend don’t actually look like that,” Jason said, he slammed the second photo on the table

“That’s what they look like,” Jason said. Barry and Mac were scared to the fullest

“This one's Ben,” Jason said as he pointed to the lanky eight-foot demon with the purple eyes, “And this is Bend,” he said pointing at the other lanky eight-foot demon with orange eyes

“Those a-are your n-nephews?” Mac asked shakily

“Yup,” Jason said

“And t-that doesn’t scare you?” Mac said

“No, but they don’t like being called things,” Jason said. Mac straightened and headed for the door, dropping his bags before the door. He rushed to his rig and left without a word, Barry still petrified

“The Wankel is for Bend,” Jason said

“Why d-do you want to give it to him?” Barry asked shakily

“Well, he seems pretty interested in engines, and what better engine for him to toy with then the Wankel?” Jason said

“S-Sure, I’ll get you the engine, do you want any spare parts?” Barry asked

“Uh, yeah actually. I need a few Apex seals and some spark plugs, Oh and an ignition coil along with some-“ Barry cutoff Jason

“How about I just give you an entire Wankel set with a turbo and a super?” Barry said

“That’s going to be expensive don’t ya think?” Jason said

“You are the only person here that wants a rotary engine. We’ve had many orders, but they’ve been called back, I can just give you a set for free” Barry stated

“Huh, looks like the owners saw the efficiency of a piston engine,” Jason said

“Yeah,” Barry said as he headed for the back

He came back with three boxes and a bag

“Here’s your twin Wankel rotary engine with an ECU, a sequential turbo kit with ECU upgrade and Blow-off valve, a Roots supercharger with an ECU upgrade and bypass valve, and a bunch of parts,” Barry said

“Wow, thanks Barry, Bend’s gonna love it,” Jason said

“I bet he is,” Barry said

Jason took everything one by one, first the bag, then the super, then the turbo, and finally the engine. He was ready to head home until something hit his mind

“Wait, Barry where are your mufflers and cats?” Jason asked

“The same place they’ve always been in you clod,” Barry said

Jason rushed to the aisle, only to find Mac back in the isle, when did he come back?

“Thinking of actually being eco-friendly and NOT rolling coal everywhere you go?” Jason said

“Shut it,” Mac said. Jason didn’t take this lightly

“Listen here Mac, I understand that Ben, Bend, or Bendy are here, but I promise you this. Don’t call them “things” if you want to have a rib cage, got it?” Jason said

“I’ve toughened up since the last time Jaye, I could beat you down faster than you could cold start your indirect diesel” Mac threatened

“Oh, I’m aware, but Ben and Bend won’t take it lightly,” Jason said

“What are they gonna do? Teleport to my house and beat me down?” Mac said

**_Alright, I’m checking on him, he’s been gone for an extra day_ **

**What am I supposed to tell June? That you just walked into a portal and hoped that you would come back?**

**_Tell her I’m checking where Jason is_ **

Bend opened a portal and walked through, June heard the ink portal opening and she ran into the living room only to find Ben watching over the kids instead of Bend and Ben

“Where did he go?” June asked

“ **He said he was going to check on Jason,** ” Ben said, June grew worried

She hasn’t realized that Jason isn’t back, he was supposed to come back yesterday, right?

“ **He promised he would be back,** ” Ben said

“Well if he doesn’t come back, you’re getting him,” June said as she walked back into the kitchen

“ **Huh, I wonder where Jason is** ”

“Hey, Jay! Where are you?” Barry said as he walked up to Lucy

He peeked through the window and found none other than Bend. he jumped back but his curiosity took over, he peeked through the cabin window again

“A-Are you Bend?” Barry said

“ **Yeah, who are you?** ” Bend asked

“I’m Barry, now, where’s Jay?” Barry asked

“ **I don’t know, he was supposed to be home yesterday,** ” Bend said

“Wait a minute, why did I come looking for him while he was in the store?” Barry said. Bend shrugged

He hopped out of the cabin and followed Barry to the store

“He should be in aisle twelve, go get him and give him these back” Barry said as he gave Bend both photos

Bend looked at the photos and gripped them tightly with his gloved hand

“What are they gonna do? Teleport to my house and beat me down?” Mac said. He was facing the opposite side of the aisle start

“They can do that actually,” Jason said

“Oh really, Is he going to teleport to me now?” Mac said. He pushed Jason with his right hand

Bend witnessed it and it made him angry, he wouldn’t kill the man, but he will avenge Jason

“Answer me when I ask you a question!” Mac yelled. Jason was about to answer until he saw Bend leaning over the Mac, he smiled at Bend

Mac kicked Jason “Answer me!” Mac screamed, oblivious to the demon behind him

Bend placed his human hand on the man’s shoulder and squeezed, he brought his head right next to the man’s left ear “ **He can’t answer you, but I can** ” Bend said

Mac spun around and found Ben looming over him, Jason got up and joined Bend by his side, lowering the demon’s hand

“Now if you mind, I and Bend need to pick out a muffle, some piping, and a Cat,” Jason said. Mac moved out of there way as Jason taught Bend about all the different things there where

“Now, if you had to choose, which one would you like the most?” Jason asked Bend

“ **This one** ” Bend said as he pointed to the Catalytic converter Jason had

“And a muffler” Jason said

“I recommend this one” Barry said, catching Bend and Jason off guard. He brought down a muffler and showed it to Bend

“You always say that,” Jason said

“What can I say? It’s cheap, it’s the best, and it does everything better” Barry said

“I guess,” Jason said

“Plus, this is the perfect muffler for a rotary engine,” Barry said. Jason threw a look at Barry telling him to not ruin the surprise

“ **A… rotary engine?** ” Bend asked

“It’s another type of engine,” Jason said

“ **Does it run off diesel or gasoline?** ” Bend asked

“Gasoline” Barry said

Bend and Jason took some time choosing other parts, Bend guessed it was for Jason’s rig

As they walked towards Lucy, Bend could see three boxes strapped down to the rig

“ **What are you hauling?** ” Bend asked

“You’ll see when we get home,” Jason said as he hopped into the driver’s seat, Bend hopped into the passenger seat

**_Almost home_ **

**Good, June’s started to get worried**

**_Tell her we will be home in a minute_ **

Once Jason got home, he pulled up to the house and parked Lucy in the driveway

Beth, Sarah, and Ben opened the door and made their way to Jason. Beth and Sarah running, Ben walking

“ **So, what took so long?** ” Ben asked

“My engine broke down,” Jason said. Bend was shocked

“ **If your engines broke then how did you get here?** ” Bend asked

“It was partially broken, I had to slam the clutch, then hit the gas,” Jason said

“ **Wouldn’t that break the clutch?** ” Bend asked

“Yes, it would unless you released it before hitting the gas,” Jason said

“Anyway, Ben, Bend can you help me with these boxes?” Jason said

Bend grabbed the biggest one, Ben the second biggest, and Jason the smallest, the girls took the bag and looked through them

“Hey, dad? Why do you have A-Apex seals?” Beth said, struggling with the word Apex

“ **Apex seals? Don’t rotary engines use Apex seals?** ” Bend asked

“Look at the box your holding,” Jason said, Bend looked at the top of the box and realized the tag that read “TWIN WANKEL ROTARY ENGINE” on it followed by “212 HORSEPOWER. 159Ib TORQUE.”

“ **Why do you need a rotary engine?** ” Ben asked

“So that you and Bend can tamper with it, see how high you can get the horses, after all, you do have a turbo and a supercharger,” Jason said

“ **You got us an engine?** ” Bend said, delighted by the fact he has his own engine

“Yup and now I have to explain how it works to you,” Jason said jokingly

The five walked back into the house, June was about to greet them but Bend, Ben, and Jason where holding crates, the girls where holding a bag

“What’s this?” June asked

“A rotary engine,” Jason said

“A rotary engine? Why do we need a rotary engine?” June asked

“I wanna see how high Ben and Bend can raise the horsepower and torque of this thing, plus it’ll be interesting to see how they deal with Apex seals” Jason replied

“That’s going to make a ton of noise” June said

“That’s why we got a muffler,” Jason said

“Will it muffle enough sound?” June asked

“It’s meant to do that if it doesn’t then I’ll buy a better muffler” Jason reassured

“What about emissions?” June asked

“I got a cat,” Jason said

“Jay, don’t you think we have enough kittens in the house?” June said

“No, not that type of cat,” Jason said, he put down his box and grabbed the bag from the girls, he took out a large metal box, “This is a cat, also known as a catalytic converter,” Jason said

“Oh, alright” June replied

Ben, Bend, and Jason headed for the garage and placed the engine crate on a bench, they unpacked everything. The engine, the supercharger, the turbocharger, the ECU, the muffler, and other parts

“Alright, let me teach you how theses babies work,” Jason said.

Jason spent thirty minutes explaining everything about the parts and engine he gave them

“Alright, let give her a run and see how she sounds,” Jason said. He grabbed a metal cylinder and placed it at one end of the engine

As he walked over to the cat and muffler Bend rose his voice

“ **Jason, what’s that?** ” Bend said

“Oh, snap. Sorry, I forgot to tell you what a carburetor is. Essentially it combines gasoline and air together, then it sends the mixture into the engine and the cycle goes on” Jason said

“ **Oh, cool** ” Ben said

Ben helped Jason rig up the exhaust system while Bend played around with the eccentric shaft, he turned it over and something moved inside. It was fun, so he did it again

“Alright, let's get some gas in this baby,” Jason said

Bend realized something different, instead of glow plugs, there where… spark plugs?

“ **Jason, what are spark plugs?** ” Bend asked

“Well, its what makes gasoline combust. See in diesel you don’t really need spark plugs because the compression acts as the spark plug. But in gasoline, the fuel can’t ignite itself, so it gets some help from the spark plugs, which do what they say. Spark” Jason replied

“ **Ah,** ” Bend said

Bend, Ben, and Jason took another thirty minutes hooking up the ECU to the engine and all of the sensors. All they had to do was add gas and oil and start the engine

“Who wants to start it?” Jason asked

“ **Go ahead,** ” Bend said. Ben refused

“I guess I’ll start it,” Jason said. He rapped a piece of twine around one end of the eccentric shaft and pulled as hard as he could

The engine sputtered to life making loud “Brrap” noises. The girls and June entered, intrigued by the sound

Jason gave Ben a cable connected to one side of the carburetor

“Give it a pull!” Jason yelled

Ben pulled on it slowly and the engine sped up, this was fun. Ben released the pressure and pulled back harder, making the engine rev more

He passed the line over to Bend. Bend took his time, revving the engine to the highest possible point, but for some reason, he could tell this wasn’t the max

Bend released the pressure and handed it to Sarah, she too pulled on it and it revved. The cable was passed along, and everyone got a turn

When it landed on Jason, he didn’t give any pull. Instead, he put his hand above the top of the carburetor and the engine stopped

“Now, let’s add the Roots,” Jason said as he pulled out a metal box

He was about to install the roots until he realized that the rotary isn’t compatible with a Roots

“I’ll be right back,” Jason said. He ran out of the room leaving everyone in the garage

When he returned, he had a small metal cylinder in his hand, it said supercharger on it

“This is a cen-tri-fu-gal supercharger, it works just like the Roots,” Jason said, making sure he didn’t miss pronounce centrifugal

The girls and June went back too what they were doing while Jason, Ben, and Bend were installing the ECU upgrade and the supercharger

“ **How does this guy work?** ” Bend said as he put his hand on the supercharger

“Well, it’s pretty simple, there is an air filter, and inside this little box is a propeller, the eccentric shaft spins a flywheel, the flywheel connects to this end of the supercharger and it spins the fan, pushing more air into the engine” Jason explained

“ **And making more power** ” Ben topped off

“Exactly” Jason replied

They finished installing it and as they were about to start the engine, well, it didn’t start

Jason tried to crank it from an auxiliary motor, but nothing worked

“Really? One blew that fast?” Jason said

“ **What blew?** ” Ben asked

“An Apex seal, these engines aren’t used much because of these seals, they keep breaking,” Jason said

He grabbed an impact driver and unscrewed the bolts of the engine, inside was a triangular rotor

“That’s what she looks like,” Jason said, he then pointed at one of the corners “And that’s an Apex seal”

“Alright, Bend could you pass me that orange box on the table?” Jason said. Bend picked up the orange box, it said “Apex seal” on it, figures

Jason took fifteen minutes replacing all three seals, then he re-bolted the engine and flipped it over, revealing a second rotor. The second rotor had nothing wrong inside as they only ran one of the rotors

Jason still replaced its Apex seals and re-bolted the cover

“Alright, let's add in another carburetor,” Jason said

An hour past, the supercharger is installed, both rotors are ready to run, all that was left is to start it up

“Alright, this time we just turn a key and it starts,” Jason said

“You're starting it,” Jason said as he gave Ben the key

“ **Fine** ” Ben said

Ben inserted the key and turned it, the engine started to crank

Once the cranking finished, the engine roared to life, unlike the sputter from the last start.

“And here you go,” Jason said, he gave Bend the cable connected to the throttle valve

Bend pulled lightly and held it at that speed, everything was normal. Bend decided to increase the force on the cable opening the throttle valve, even more, Bend quickly let it go as a high-pitched whining sound started

“Don’t worry, it’s just the supercharger” Jason reassured

Bend pulled the cable slower, the whine got louder and louder as the engine sped up

Bend and Ben got used to this sound and Bend started to show off the control over the supercharger. He released the cable putting the engine at idling speed, then he pulled on it shortly, letting the engine rev up for a brief moment then dropping it back to idle

Bend passed the cable to Ben. Ben repeated what Bend did but instead, he pulled much more during these small bursts, making the engine roar during short periods

It was Jason’s turn, he pulled on it very slowly and let it rev up, once he hit the max, he pulled even harder. The engine roared while the supercharger screamed

Jason let the cable go and then turned off the engine

“That’s enough for today,” Jason said, “if we keep going, she’s gonna overheat”

“ **Alright,** ” Bend said

“Now, I need two pairs of helping hands to help me install my new engine,” Jason said, Bend and Ben instantly volunteered

Jason joked around as he looked around the garage like there were thousands around him, he then pointed at Ben and Bend and motioned them to come over

Once they got to the rig there was a distinct smell coming from the engine

“She’s eating oil,” Jason said

“ **Ah** ” Bend replied

“Now, we need to get her out and install-“ Jason walked to the back of the rig and put his elbow on a large crate, “This baby,” Jason said

He opened the crate and revealed an engine, it looked very different from the one he currently had

“isn’t she a beauty,” Jason said. Ben and Bend shrugged at the man

“Here let’s focus on the old one first, then we will talk about this one,” Jason said

Ben, Bend, and Jason started working on Lucy, once the engine was installed Jason noted out the fact that there were a turbo and a super in the engine

“ **So how does this ‘opposed piston’ engine work?** ” Ben asked

“Well, it’s pretty simple actually, see as I’ve said before, diesel’s don’t need spark plugs, so if you put two-piston opposite to each other and they meet in the middle of the chamber, the diesel can get sent into it via fuel injector and the combustion will happen there. This doubles the efficiency as two pistons are working off of one injector” Jason stated

“ **Ah** ” Bend replied

“Now let’s hear some flutters,” Jason said

Jason hoped into the cabin and started Lucy, at first nothing happened but then she roared to life, it sounded much different from the old engine

Jason stepped on the gas pedal and released it, immediately initiating the Jake brake

“Oh snap!” Jason said as he turned off the engine in a hurry

He ran to the ECU and unplugged it. He ran back into the cabin and turned the key, the engine was stuck on the crank

After a bit of cranking, Jason stopped and plugged the ECU back in, starting the engine again

This time the engine sound was complemented by two other sounds, one they knew, and one they didn’t

The one they knew was the supercharger, yes it sounded different, but the whine was iconic. The other sound though, they had no idea

“Now, let’s hear some flutters” Jason exclaimed

He revved the engine up and the sounds rose, the whine became louder and higher-pitched but there was another whine of sorts

Jason switched on the Jake brake and released the gas pedal

As the engine revved down, so did the whine of the supercharger, but a very weird sound arose,

“SSSSUtututu” this noise came from a turbine next to the engine, Jason repeated the process of revving the engine and slowing the revs

“SSSSSSSSUTUtutututu” again came from the engine

“Now that’s a turbo flutter!” Jason exclaimed from the cabin. He turned off the engine

“ **A turbo… flutter?** ” Ben asked

“Yeah, a turbo flutter,” Jason said. Ben and Bend stood there unknowing what the words “turbo” and “flutter” meant

“ **What’s a turbo and what’s a flutter?** ” Bend asked

“Oh, well, a turbo is a turbine of sorts, it takes exhaust gas and spins a turbine,” Jason said as he spun his finger in a circle, “The other side of the turbine sucks in air and sends it to the engine, making more power” Jason continued

“ **Ohhh** ” Bend replied

“That’s a turbo,” Jason said

“You guys want to see something cool?” Jason asked. Ben and Bend shrugged

Jason hopped back into the cabin, started the engine, and revved it up without initiating the Jake brake

“Look at the exhaust pipes!” Jason yelled

Ben and Bend looked at the exhaust pipes above the cabin. Nothing happened at first, but then a loud pop sounded, and flames came out of the exhaust

“Cool eh?” Jason yelled

“ **What was that?** ” Bend asked, concerned that something broke

“Just the anti-lag” Jason screamed

“ **Anti-lag?** ” Ben asked. Jason turned off the engine and walked down to Ben and Bend

“Yeah anti-lag” Jason implied

“ **What does it do?** ” Ben asked

“Dinners ready!” June called out

“I’ll explain it to you after dinner,” Jason said

The walked away from Lucy and entered the house, having dinner with June, Jason, Beth, and Sarah

**How do you feel?**

**_Better_ **

Good, that’s always good to hear

_Especially with your guy’s past, feeling good is well… good_

**Nice explanation**

_Hey, at least I said something_

**_I guess_ **

The rest of the day went fine for everyone. But Jason still hadn’t seen it

“ **Hey Jason,** ” Ben said

“What’s up?” Jason asked

Ben pointed at the drawing above the mantle, Jason slowly got up and walked closer to the drawing

He saw the names written under it, Ben, Bend, Bendy, and Henry

“Did-Did you guys draw this?” Jason asked, trying his best not to tear at the drawing

Ben nodded, Bend followed

Jason wrapped his arms around Ben and Bend’s neck

“It’s beautiful,” Jason said

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda knew what I was talking about (I know how engines work, thank)


	6. A failed attempt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linda feels something and wants to show it, but is she lying?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of my take on this series

_I’m so stupid, why did I think my plan was going to work? Its Henry, he always gets the good ending_

_Man, I wished I knew what I was doing, why did I follow Joey’s path? He died taking it, now I’m dead, and trapped here by myself_

_I hope one day, I will be set free, I don’t care who does it, as long as I get to see the afterlife, I’m happy. I don’t care about heaven or hell, I just want to be out of this prison_

_I can’t believe I’m saying this but, Bendy, please set me free. I’ve thought about what I’ve done, and I now realize I made a mistake. Joey was the problem, I was too dumb and stubborn to see that before. Now I see it, and I feel so ignorant as a person that I thought he wasn’t the problem. My own husband pulled the wall over my head without me even doing or relating to his work. He didn’t care about me, he just wanted to be famous and rich, I was too dead set on the richness that I forgot about life. Please, Bendy, Henry, June, all off you, I’m sorry for putting you through hell_

**_What? Who’s that?_ **

_H-Hello! Can you save me? Please!_

**_Wait a minute, that voice, I know it_ **

_Are you here to save me?_

**_I can’t save you from where I’m at Linda, plus, I wouldn’t do it after everything you’ve done to Ben_ **

_B-Ben?_

**_Yeah, the ink demon_ **

_His name isn’t Bendy?_

**_The small one's name is Bendy_ **

_Oh, I’m sorry for confusing them up, may I ask what’s your name?_

**_Bend, the other ink demon_ **

_There’s two? I never knew this_

**_No one did until new year’s eve, except Ben and I_ **

_W-Well, what can I do to make you save me? Please, I’ll do anything_

**_Anything?_ **

_I promise you, anything_

**_Try living thirty years of solitude, deception, anger, violence, and confusion, then I’ll put it into consideration_ **

_Is there anything else I can do?_

**_Yes, but I thought you said you’d do anything_ **

_I will unless a simpler option is available_

**_Alright, I guess that makes sense_ **

_So, what do I have to do?_

**_Apologize_ **

_I’m sorry for-_

**_Not to me, well, yes to me but also to everyone in the Anderson family you have harmed, yes, you’ve caused me damage, but I wasn’t the one brainwashed into killing my own sister was I now?_ **

_N-No_

**_And I wasn’t the one running for my life from a hulking version of my brother chasing me through a studio that I didn’t even know, was I?_ **

_No_

**_AND I wasn’t one of the two girls being held by an eighteen-foot-tall searcher who had two heads I might add, was I?_ **

_No_

**_Do you understand what I’m trying to get to?_ **

_Yes_

**_So, will you apologize for your actions, or will you stay there and rot?_ **

_I’ll apologize for my actions_

**_And, I’ll send you right back if you lie, I know when someone lies and your nothing different_ **

_I promise I won’t lie_

**_And don’t haunt anyone when I free you, even though you have anger, don’t use it, it makes you feel worse_ **

_I won’t haunt either June or Henry’s house_

**_Alright, I’ll tell you when the next time you can apologize happens_ **

_Thank you_

**Bend, who are you talking to?**

**_No one of interest_ **

**Who’s here**

_Hi_

**Linda**

**_She wants out_ **

**And?**

**_I said I would, IF she apologizes for everything she did, and one lie and she’s staying there forever_ **

**Alright, that makes sense**

**_We have to go now but note that I will remember the promise you gave me, breaking a promise is a horrible thing and you know that_ **

_Bye, I will not break my promise and I will tell the truth_

**Ciao**

**_Ciao_ **

“And that’s how a turbo works,” Jason said

“ **So, the exhaust gasses spin a turbine on the ‘hot side’ and that the turbine is connected to another turbine on the ‘cold side’ sucking in air?** ” Ben asked

“Yup,” Jason said

“ **And that air is sent through an intercooler to make it denser hence making more power** ” Bend topped off

“Show off,” Jason said

“ **He loves doing that** ” Ben said

“ **What can I say, I look shoving the fact that I’m smarter than everyone in their faces,** ” Bend said

“Well, ya’ didn’t know how a diesel or gasoline engine worked before” Jason stated, trying to get Bend out of his bragging

“ **We actually knew that before** ” Ben said

“Really? How?” Jason asked

“ **Joey had a bunch of books that we read, some of them were about math’s, some about grammar, some science, and some about mechanics,** ” Ben said

“ **He was pretending. Because then, he still held on to his past. Now, he is being as honest as possible even if it hurts** ” Ben said

“Oh, that’s… interesting” Jason said, “So you two already knew about the Wankel engine before?”

“ **Yup, and superchargers, and turbochargers, so and so,** ” Bend said

“Well, that means I don’t need to pay for more school fees,” Jason said jokingly

“ **You were going to send us to school?** ” Bend asked

“I mean, college to be exact. But you already know a lot so, that won’t be happening” Jason joked around

“ **Few** ” Bend said. Ben simply giggled

“Now, let's see if anything’s playing,” Jason said. He stood up and walked over to the television turning it on and finding a sport channel

“ **Wait, actually there’s something,** ” Bend said

“Really? What is it?” Jason said. Bend waited for him to sit in his seat

“ **Alright, you remember Linda** ” Bend said

“Yeah, I do, but I don’t want to remember,” Jason said

“ **Well, she’s still moving, but not physically,** ” Ben said

“What do you mean not physically, is she dead?” Jason asked

“ **To an extent,** ” Bend said, “ **She’s dead but her soul is trapped in prison** ” Bend continued

“Good, I hope she feels what she put my family through,” Jason said

“ **She’s feeling something much worse,** ” Ben said

“Really? Like what?” Jason asked, honestly curious to what the two are getting too

“ **Remorse, guilt, regret, repentance, sorrow, shame, self-condemnation, penitence, to name a few** ” Bend stated

“How do you know this?” Jason asked

“ **She was sending for distress during dinner, we found it and asked her what was happening, she wants out and will do whatever it takes,** ” Ben said

“And?” Jason said

“ **We said we would let her out if everyone she harmed would accept an apology from her, if not, she’ll stay there, left to rot,** ” Bend said

“O-Oh,” Jason said. He kind of felt sad for Linda, she didn’t know anything, she was lied to by her own husband

“Watchya guys talking about?” June asked as she entered the living room

“Linda,” Jason said

“What about Linda? She got what she deserved” June said

“ **She wants to be free,** ” Ben said

“How do you know this?” June said.

Ben, Bend, and Jason started explaining the situation to June, she understood but was unsure if she accepted the woman’s apology, she hurt her children, she hurt Henry, she hurt her

Beth and Sarah enter the scene and ask what’s going on, June explains

* * *

“So, the mean woman wants to apologize?” Sarah said

“Yes, she wants to apologize” June replied

“I would do it, she was lied to by Joey, wasn’t she Joey’s husband?” Beth asked

“ **She was,** ” Ben said

“Then why did Joey lie to her?” Beth asked

“ **I don’t know,** ” Bend said, “ **He didn’t care about anyone else but himself I guess** ” Bend continued

“I would do it too, but that monster thingy still scares me,” Sarah said

“That monster won’t be there, right?” June questioned her own word

“ **Right** ” Ben reassured

“Now all we need is Henry and Bendy” Jason stated

“ **There’s one last thing,** ” Bend said

“Well, what is it?” June asked

“ **We have to be there, in the studio,** ” Bend said, sadly

“What, we have to be there to do it?” Jason asked

“ **Y-Yes** ” Bend said

June, Jason, Beth, and Sarah look at each other, unsure about going back. Sarah was the first to look away

She sighed, “I’ll do it,” Sarah surprised everyone in the room. She was the youngest and yet she acted like the bravest, “It isn’t fair how that mean lady was treated by Joey, she deserves another chance”

Jason sighed, he then lowered his head, “I guess,” Jason struggled to phrase his sentence. He knew Sarah was right, but he couldn’t find the words to say he did

He decided to take her explanation and modify a bit, “Sarah’s right, Linda was lied to by Joey, and, that made her believe also that Henry was the villain” Jason said, props to him for getting a sentence out

“We all have to do this?” June asked Bend

“ **Yes,** ” Bend said

“ **We do unless you don’t want to,** ” Ben said

“… I… I…” June struggled for words, let alone syllables, “I do, but at the same time I don’t” June said

“ **That’s fine** ” Ben reassured. As soon as Ben said, June got a punch of guilt

“For now, we’ll say I don’t know,” June said

“Beth, what about you?” Sarah asked

“I… I… I’ll do it, but I don’t want to hear from that woman again,” Beth said. The anger in Beth’s voice surprised everyone

“ **So, all that’s left is Bendy and Henry,** ” Bend said

“I suppose,” Jason said

_H-Hello? Is anybody there?_

**_I’m here_ **

_What did they say? Will they accept my apologies?_

**_Three will, one doesn’t know, and Bendy and Henry we have yet to ask. We won’t rush this so you will have to wait until the next special event. Take this time to think about what to say and exactly what to apologize for_ **

_Alright, may I ask when is the next holiday?_

**_Spring break_ **

_Spring break? That’s going to take awhile_

**_Well you have a lot to apologize for, so I think its best if you started thinking about what to say immediately_ **

_Okay, can do_

**_See you in two months and twenty days exactly_ **

_Wait, did you calculate that just now?_

**_Yes_ **

_Geez, how much free time do you have?_

**_A lot, now, start thinking_ **

_Gotcha, ciao_

**_Ciao_ **

_Friday, March 23, 6 th period, 3:30 PM. last day of school before spring break._

“Alright class, pack up your stuff and get ready to leave” Miss Janet called out to the class

Beth started packing her stuff, taking her time as there were only fifteen minutes left to school before the release

“So, Beth, what are you doing this break?” Juliette asked

“I’m not sure, my cousin and uncle are coming over, but that’s pretty much all I can think of right now” Beth replied, “What about you Julie?” She asked

“I and my family are going camping, they were going to Hawaii,” Juliette said

“Hawaii?” Beth said, an excited grin appeared on Juliette’s face, “lucky,” Beth said

“I know right, and it gets even better,” Juliette said

“You two will kiss” Jerod teased

“Will you shut it?” Juliette exclaimed

Beth then whispered something in Juliette’s ear, she giggled

“Really?” Juliette asked

“Yeah, just let him deal with it,” Beth said

_Meanwhile_

“Alright, everybody stop what your doing at get your bags,” Miss Joan said

Sarah moved much faster at packing her bag, she stood at the door with five minutes left to the bell

“Sarah” Jordan called, “What are you going to do, y’know, during spring break” he continued

“I don’t know,” Sarah said

“Really? Is someone coming over to your place or is it just going to be a boring spring break?” Jordan stated

“Actually, yeah, my uncle and cousin are coming over,” Sarah said

“You have an uncle and cousin?” Jordan asked

“Duh, I’ve said it like a bajillion times by now” Sarah stated

“Huh, must have forgotten. What’s their name’s?” Jordan asked

“My uncle is Henry and my cousin is Bendy,” Sarah said, the name Bendy caught miss Joan’s attention

“Excuse me, Sarah, did you just say your cousin’s name is Bendy?” Miss Joan asked

“Yeah? Why?” Sarah asked

“By chance is he yee tall?” Miss Joan asked as she put her hand to about four feet

“Yup” Sarah replied

“Is he a cartoon?” Miss Joan said. She never expected to ask this question

“Yes” Sarah replied

“So, you're telling me that your cousin is Bendy from the cartoons?” Miss Joan asked

“Yes” Sarah again replied

“That’s not possible,” Miss Joan said, “That simply isn’t possible” she continued

Sarah took out a photo from her bag, she handed it to miss Joan

“Is it still impossible?” Sarah said. Miss Joan rubbed the image to see if the character was drawn on, but it didn’t budge

“How?” Miss Joan questioned, “How is this possible?”

“I don’t know, all I know is that he is who he is,” Sarah said, sounding smarter than she was

Miss Joan handed back the photo and checked her watch

“Almost time” She whispered to herself

“Can I see?” Jordan asked. Sarah showed him the photo

“That’s cool,” Jordan said

“I know,” Sarah said

She stuffed the photo back into her bag and lined up in front of the class door

The room fell silent in the last fifteen seconds

As soon as the needle hit twelve on the clock, the bell rang and Sarah was already out the door, sprinting for her buss

Beth was basically at the front of the school when the bell rang, Sarah and Beth were always the fastest out of their classes

When Beth got onto the bus, she found a good seat near the rear of the bus, Sarah joined Beth at the back seat

Their friends then followed, the enter the buss panting for breath. They moved to the back of the bus and sat near the two

“How do you two run so fast?” Jordan asked. Beth and Sarah shrugged

The three talked for a bit. Soon, the rest of the bus came on and started chattering

The busses left a bit earlier as fewer children were on the bus, most likely because those children where being picked up by there parents or simply didn’t come to school

The bus ride was fairly smooth until Jerod decided to show his head

“What do you want?” Beth asked angrily

Jerod didn’t reply but laughed. Beth and Sarah were confused, why was he laughing?

They soon got their answer as he whispered something to someone, the person laughed at Beth and Sarah

It was clear what he was doing, he was telling lies. Beth fought hard not to retaliate. She knew Ben or Bend would take care of it, it was just a test of patience and endurance

_5 Minutes later_

Practically the entire bus was laughing at Beth and Sarah. The kids still didn’t know it was a lie

One kid switched seats to get close to Beth and Sarah, this kid wasn’t laughing at them but seemed concerned

“You two okay?” He asked. It didn’t take long for Beth and Sarah to realize who asked, it was Baron

“I guess you could say that” Beth replied

“Well, let’s hope Bend can pull off what he did,” Baron said, trying to raise the two’s spirit’s

“You know Bend?” Sarah asked

“Yeah” Baron replied

“Since when?” Beth asked

“The first day after winter break, I was the honest one,” Baron said

“Huh,” Sarah said

_10 Minutes later_

“Alright Sarah, it’s our stop,” Beth said. Sarah took off without warning and ran into Bend’s arms

“ **You okay?** ” Bend asked. Sarah shook her head

“ **Why what happened?** ” Bend asked

“Jerod!” Baron screamed from inside the bus. Ben immediately investigated. Bendy followed Ben

As they got on the bus, they went straight for where they heard the scream

“Bend?” Baron asked

“ **Nope, Ben,** ” Ben said, “And Bendy” Bendy added

“ **Now, explain to me why Sarah’s crying,** ” Ben asked

“Jerod, that’s why,” Baron said without hesitation

“ **Again?** ” Ben asked Baron nodded his head

“That’s a lie!” Jerod stated

“ **Do we have to do this again Jerod?** ” Ben asked, using his similarities with Bend to advantage

“What do you mean we have to do this again? He’s lying!” Jerod implied

“ **Alright,** ” Ben said, he could hear a faint “phew” coming from Jerod. He lied about something

“What did Jerod say about Sarah and Beth?” Bendy asked Baron in a whisper, pretending to knock some sense into him

“That they were stupider than an Ass” Baron replied in a whisper

“ **There dumber than a donkey? How is that funny?** ” Ben said aloud. He used the bond to hear what Baron said

Everyone shrugged and started mumbling, an idea hit Ben’s mind

“ **Alright, like last time, I want you all to be honest with me,** ” Ben said, everyone still thinking he was Bend, “ **Who laughed because it was funny?** ” Ben asked but no one put there hand up, except Jerod

“And who laughed because of peer pressure?” Bendy asked. Everyone’s hand raised in the air

“ **And where did you get the peer pressure from?** ” Ben asked

“Jerod” Was said across the bus

Ben and Bendy walked up to Jerod and stared him down until speaking

“ **What did our brother tell you last time? Don’t do something unless you have a reason to do it** ” Ben said. He meant for only Jerod to hear, but he made it easy to eaves drop-in

“Brother?” Arose from the passengers on the bus in a hushed tone

“ **Do you have a reason for why you said these things Jerod?** ” Ben asked

“No,” Jerod said shily

“Then what are you doing spitting random stuff that isn’t even true?” Bendy asked

“I don’t know, I think it’s funny,” Jerod said, trying to hide his shame and making himself look tougher than he actually is

“ **Well, try becoming a comedian and saying these jokes, ‘cause none of ‘em will get you a buck,** ” Ben said

“If you wanna be funny then hop like a bunny and roll of the bus like spaghetti on a mountain” Bendy rapped, for no reason given. Everyone giggled, chuckled, or snickered at it, Bendy bowed

“ **Jonah, it’s your stop,** ” Ben said in a sing-song voice

“Snap!” Jonah said

“ **Don’t run into the dash this time** ” Ben said as he and Bendy left the bus

As Ben and Bendy walked up to Bend and the others, Jonah followed, running. He caught up with the two

“ **Do you always do that?** ” Ben asked

“Do what?” Jonah asked

“ **Forget it's your stop ya’ goof,** ” Ben said

“Hey, I was doing my homework,” Jonah said, “like you would know what homework is Bend”

Ben laughed, “ **Jonah,** ” Ben tried to say but his laughter said otherwise, “ **J-Jonah, That’s Bend,** ” Ben said as he pointed to the orange-eyed demon kneeled down, holding Sarah’s hand

“Oh, sorry Ben. You two just look-” Ben interrupted Jonah

“ **Like the same person? I mean, I did say he was our brother, didn’t I?** ” Ben asked, “ **Or were you to busy with your homework?** ” Ben said

“I heard you, but I chose not to listen,” Jonah said Jokingly

“ **Heh, of course, you didn’t,** ” Ben said

Ben, Bendy, and Jonah walked up to the group, they then spoke for a bit until June called for them. They said their goodbyes and walked away

“So, how was your guy's last day at school?” June asked

“ **June, me, Bendy, and Bend don’t go to school,** ” Ben said jokingly. June pit her hands on her hips and gave him a “you know what I mean” type of look

“ **These two do and they got some homework to do** ” Bend said. He held the two’s bags, they walked away from their bags and Bend turned them around. The girls returned to their bags opening them and taking out a couple of papers

Beth, Sarah, and Bendy went into the living room. Bendy helped Beth and Sarah with their homework

Bend was about to join Bendy, but Henry pulled him aside

“You wanted to tell me something?” Henry asked. Bend was confused at first but then, he remembered

“Well? What is it?” Henry asked, growing impatient

“ **Linda, she wants out,** ” Bend said. Henry grew confused

“What do you mean?” Henry asked

“ **She’s trapped, she isn’t in hell, nor heaven, she’s still in the ink, she’s still powering the machine** ” Bend stated

“And?”

“ **She wants to see the afterlife,** ” Bend said

“What stopping her?”

“ **You and Bendy,** ”

“What?”

“ **You two need to accept an apology from her, one that she means, one that you have to accept to let her out, or else she’s left to rot** ”

“That’s… a lot of power. I mean, yes the ink is powerful, but this is… wow”

“When do I have to do it?”

“ **Whenever works** ”

“Huh, and I’m guessing Bendy also has to do it?”

“ **Yeah** ”

“I need time to process this, for now, I don’t know my answer. Maybe you should go ask Bendy”

“ **Alright** ”

Bend walked out of the kitchen and into the living room where he sat, crisscrossed on the floor. He got Bendy’s attention

“You need anything lank- I mean Bend” Bendy said. Bend gave him a look, “Sorry, force of habit” Bendy said, Bend smiled and gave the demon a nudge

“ **I need to ask you something important** ” Bend said

“Go ahead, shoot,” Bendy said

“ **Linda wants to see the afterlife and she needs your help,** ” Bend said, making Bendy confused

“My help?! Why does she need my help?” Bendy said

“ **Because the only way out is to apologize to everyone she hurt and hope’s that we accept,** ” Bend said

“Oh, is anyone accepting?” Bendy asked

“ **Ben and I will. Sarah, Beth, and Jason will also. June and Henry aren’t sure** ” Bend said

“Uhmmm, eashhhh, this is a hard decision,” Bendy said. He became more and more stressed as he tried to find an answer, there was too much to put into consideration

“ **It’s okay if you don’t know, that’s why we think of things,** ” Bend said. This stopped Bendy’s frustration, an answer quickly popped up in his head

“I mean, she did do a lot of hurtful things, but at the same time, she didn’t” Bendy was trying to make sense of what he just said but, that wasn’t going to happen

“ **Joey’s a man of lies,** ” Bend said, hoping it would help Bendy figure out what to say

“He is, and that’s why I don’t know if Linda is lying or not,” Bendy said

“ **She isn’t** ” Bend said

“How do you know that?”

“ **Bendy, me and Ben have lived with a lie dispenser for about four years of our life, we can tell a lie from a mile away,** ” Bend said

“I guess, I just, I…” Bendy scrambled for words and became frustrated

Bend put his hand on Bendy’s shoulder, Bendy look at him. He gave a soft, comforting smile, one that Henry would give him.

**_Take your time to think, you don’t need to act as you have it. Just relax and slowly think about it_ **

_I want to, but I don’t_

**_Hmm?_ **

_I want to accept it, but I can’t, something isn’t letting me,_

**_What do you mean something isn’t letting you?_ **

_Something is speaking to me, it sounds like you but, it isn’t_

**_Wait a minute, what is it telling you?_ **

_Empathy or Apathy_

**_Oh no, not you_ **

_Who is it? How do I get rid of him?_

**_He was what made my decisions, but I got rid of him awhile back because he wouldn’t stop telling me to kill and wouldn’t stop giving me nightmares_ **

_How do I get rid of him?_

**_You make your own decision, you do it fast and without hesitation, it’ll confuse him, then you have to give him the boot_ **

_So, I have to make my decision quickly and without hesitating?_

**_Yeah, it’s harder than you think_ **

_I wanna save Linda_

**_Never mind, I guess I just sucked at making decisions_ **

_I will accept her apology. Any soul, good or bad, need to see the afterlife, it’s just fair, they had their chance, they did what they did, and they were rewarded with either Heaven or Hell. Linda is dead but hasn’t been rewarded, she deserves to see the aftermath of her actions_

**Not again**

**_Oh yes again, Bendy give him the boot_ **

_Alright_

**Please don-**

_And he’s gone, why didn’t you tell me to do that earlier?_

**_Because I didn’t know he was in you ya’ dolt_ **

_True, true_

**_Now, answer Sarah’s question, I got Beth’s_ **

Bend helped Beth with her math questions while Bendy helped Sarah with hers. Henry was amazed, he knew the demon was smart but, he knew more than he expected

“ **Books,** ” Ben said as he passed Henry heading for the couch near the window. Henry gave Ben a smirk. Ben couldn’t see it but he sure as hell responded. He rotated his head around and gave Henry a smirk back

Henry questioned how Ben knew what he did

**I have my ways**

I will never understand how you know things, Ben Ross

**I will never understand how you thought I was going to hurt June back than Henry Ross**

Really? You're going to go that far back just to include my full name into the sentence?

**Maybe, depends on how I feel**

Henry walked up to the demon and stuck his left arm out, he passed Ben and let his arm hit Ben

“ **Why you,** ” Ben said as he pushed Henry into the couch, he then sat down to Henry and started chuckling

Henry joined Ben, it was kind of funny how it escalated and de-escalated that fast

“So, how’s it been, Ben?” Henry ask

“ **Did you really but been and Ben next to each other just to provoke me?** ” Ben asked

“Why, is it working?” Henry asked. Ben nudged Henry

“ **It’s been fine, me and Bend started picking up and dropping off the girls,** ” Ben said

“So, the neighbors are fine with you two?”

“ **Yeah, well at least all the children, some parents are still uneasy around us but, were used to it,** ” Ben said

“That’s good, at least some people like you,” Henry said

“ **Yeah, I guess that’s good,** ” Ben said

“Anything else or is your life more boring than watching paint dry?” Henry teased

“ **Actually, there is something,** ” Ben said

“Well, what is it?” Henry said. Ben stood up and headed to the garage, Henry followed

“ **An engine, that’s what,** ” Ben said

“You guys found a rotary engine?” Henry asked

“Nope, I bought it for them,” Jason said. Ben and Henry jumped, “And I thought Ben was the sneakiest” Jason added

Ben growled faintly, Henry clutched his chest with his right hand

“You almost gave me a heart attack Jay!” Henry exclaimed

“Well at least Ben knows what June feels when he scares her” Jason said

“ **Nope, I’ve been scared worse than that** ” Ben said

“By whom then?” Jason asked

“ **Bend,** ” Ben said

“Really Bend scared you more than you scare June?” Jason said

“ **Well, yes-** “ Ben was cutoff when Bend touched Jason’s shoulders, he jumped a foot in the air, “ **I was also pointing out he was behind you** ” Ben added

“I s-see what you mean,” Jason said, still scarred from the jump he got from Bend

“ **That was nothing, you should see the time I scared Ben so much he jumped and got his head stuck in the ceiling of the second floor at the studio,** ” Bend said, “ **Really? You're going to say that now?** ” Ben asked

Bend shrugged. Ben gave Bend a playful punch on the arm, Bend punched back

“Wanna hear this bad boy?” Jason asked. Henry shrugged

Ben walked to the corner of the room and picked up a gas can Bend on the other hand plugged in four cables into little adapters poking out of the engine

Ben inserted a tube into the gas can nozzle while Bend checked the battery

“ **You want to start it?** ” Ben asked as he wrapped a cable around the flywheel of the engine

“Sure,” Henry said as he approached Ben, Ben handed him the cable and Henry instinctively pulled as hard as he could

The engine sputtered to life. Henry and Ben walked back to Jason and Bend, Bend had a cable in his hand

He handed the cable to Henry and yelled “ **Pull to make it go faster** ”

Henry teased with the engine a bit as he pulled the cable lightly, it revved accordingly to the amount of force on the cable

Henry chuckled but no one heard, the engine was too loud

Henry gave it a much stronger pull and made it longer, the engine noise was overruled by a high pitched sound, it was from a turbine

As Henry let go of the cable, a flutter and compressed air escaping sounded

“Oh my god, you installed a turbo!” Henry yelled

“Damn right they did!” Jason yelled back

“ **You helped** ” Ben yelled

“I guess I did” Jason yelled

Henry started having fun with the turbo flutters, he managed to get one that took a while to spool down

* * *

“What’s that noise?” Pearl asked

“I know that noise from anywhere,” William said, he ran to the garage, as he opened the door, he saw Henry, Jason, Ben, Bend, and a turbocharged rotary engine

“You bugger, why didn’t you tell me earlier?” William yelled

“You were too busy with the neighbors” Jason yelled back

William ran up to Henry and put his hand out, indicating that he wanted the cable

“What type of turbo?” William yelled

“ **Sequential** ” Bend yelled back

“Good” He whispered to himself

He pulled the cable slowly, the turbo and engine revved up, he kept pulling and pulling

He reached the max point, the throttle valves where completely open and the turbo is whining. Jason put his hand on the cable because he feared an Apex blow, but William kept holding the cable

He then let go of the cable, making the engine reached idling speed, it then sped up by itself as the turbos kept pushing air into the chamber

Ben and Bend stood in front of the three just in case something broke, but to their surprise, nothing broke and a very loud a fast flutter came from both the small and big turbocharger

The engine then stopped as it was out of gas

“Now, THAT was a flutter!” William said

“You’re lucky, you didn’t blow an Apex seal,” Jason said

“Me? Blow an Apex seal? I would never, that’s your specialty” William said. Jason grumbled and crossed his arms

“What did I miss?” Pearl said as she walked into the room

“An engine being dyno tested without a dyno,” William said

“ **Dyno?** ” Bend asked

“A dyno is a test to see how much horsepower and torque your engine makes” Jason explained

“ **Ah,** ” Ben said

The five went into the living room and started a conversation, Henry left and headed for the kitchen

He tried to pull a Ben and sneak up on her, but that didn’t work out

“What are you?” June asked playfully

“Trying to scare you,” Henry said

“Henry, You know that Ben and Bend have been living in my house for more than six months now, right?” June said

“Yeah, I’m lucky there staying with you, if I was scared like that then I would have a heart attack,” Henry said. June turned around to look at Henry, s smile grew across her face

“What?” Henry asked. June turned around, grabbed a bottle of aspirin, and underhanded it to Henry. He grew curious to why she did that

He got his answer when out of nowhere, a head rested on his right shoulder

“ **Hi,** ” Ben said. Henry jumped and June laughed at the delayed reaction time **HiHi**

“Try not to die in my house Hen,” June said jokingly

Henry looked at Ben, he shrugged

“ **I keep saying she’s evil, but no one listens,** ” Ben said

“Is that a scare a la Ben?” Henry said jokingly as he raised his hand and ran his fingers between the demon’s horns. Ben went warm, he warmed Henry’s right shoulder

“ **Who knows? Maybe it’s Bend** ” Ben said jokingly

“I’m not that old, I could see your violet eyes from a mile away,” Henry said

“ **What about centimeters away?** ” Ben asked jokingly

“You know what I mean,” Henry said

“ **You sure?** ” Ben replied jokingly

“Why do I try?” Henry said faintly

“ **I don’t know, maybe you do,** ” Ben said. Henry sighed

“So, Henry what is it you want to ask me?” June said

“Well I was going to ask you what you said about the apology thing”

“ **She said the same thing you said, she doesn’t know,** ” Ben said

“Actually Ben, I’ve thought about it and… I’ll do it” June said slowly

“ **She’ll be happy to know that,** ” Ben said, “ **Just remember you can say no when she does apologize,** ” Ben said

“I’m aware,” June said

“So, it’s just me and Bendy huh?” Henry said

“ **I guess, just take your time Henry, I don’t want you pushing yourself as you did back in the studio,** ” Ben said

“How do you know that?” Henry asked jokingly

“ **Oh, just a little man named Thomas** ” Ben said

“Of course it was Thomas,” Henry said

_What did Bendy and Henry say?_

**Geez, you're impatient**

_Sorry, I just really want to know if they’ll accept_

**Wait, you think that where asking if they’d accept it?**

_Yes?_

**Sorry, but your extremely wrong, we’ve been asking if they would like to go back to the studio to hear your apology, not particularly accept it**

_O-Oh,_

**Why, did you think it would be that easy? Where are you lying this entire time just to be free?**

_…_

**You were, weren’t you?**

_Y-Yes_

**Linda, you just threw your shot out of the window**

_No, please! I just want to be free!_

**What did Bend tell you**

_F-Fine, I’m sorry for apologizing_

**No, no. You aren’t getting a second chance**

**_What’s happening here?_ **

**Linda lied**

**_Oh, you made a mistake Linda_ **

_Please let me out! There has to be another way!_

**_Oh, but there isn’t_ **

_Please!_

**_Sorry, not sorry. You chose your route, and we chose ours. Everyone is going to very sad that they thought for months and months about you just for nothing_ **

_…_

**_Sorry Linda but, I gave you the option and you didn’t follow the rules._ **

**Goodbye, and enjoy the rest of your time in prison**

_N-NO! NOT AGAIN!_

**_Oh,_ **

**But**

**_We_ **

**Did**

_NO!_

**Goodbye**

**_Linda_ **

**…**

**_…_ **

**Who’s gonna tell ‘em the big news?**

**_I’ll talk with Jason, Beth, and Sarah. You get Bendy, Henry, and June_ **

**Sounds good**

“ **Hey Bendy, could you come into the kitchen?** ” Ben called

“Give me a sec” Bendy replied

Once Bendy rushed into the kitchen he looked at Ben, who seemed kind of frustrated

“Watch’ya need Ben?” Bendy asked

“ **I need to tell you three something regarding Linda,** ” Ben said

* * *

“ **Jason, Beth, Sarah, could I talk with you three for a second?** ” Bend said

“Sure, what is it?” Jason said

“ **Well, it’s something about Linda,** ” Bend said

“Is she free?” Sarah asked

“ **That’s what I wanted to tell you three** ” Bend said, “ **Linda won’t be freed** ”

“W-Why’s that?” Beth asked

“ **Well, she lied, she tried using us by making us think we were asking if you guys accepted her apology without her even saying it,** ” Ben said

“She used you two?” Henry asked

“ **Yeah, and she tried to get away with it too,** ” Ben said

“What’s going to happen to her now?” Jason asked

“ **She’s staying where she is, forever** ” Bend said

“Where is she exactly?” Sarah asked

“ **She’s in a black and inky void. Nothing but ink and she exist there, nothing else will** ” Ben said

“Will you two give her another shot?” Bendy asked

“ **No, we said specifically, if you lie, you're done, no redo’s or anything,** ” Bend said

Everyone fell silent. They wanted to help a person in need but, you can’t fix something beyond repair. They tried and failed

Some may say that failure isn’t the opposite of success, but the route to it. Yes, this is true, but Linda was never on the route of success, she was on the route of selfishness, and failure is also in that route

The story ends here, there is nothing I can write, Ben and Bend try to fix someone. But in the end, they failed. Luckily, they did not get mad at everyone, they knew they already helped someone, Jone

The days that followed were silent, quiet, and calm. Ben and Bend were less alive during the break, they were less like themselves, they didn’t interact as often as they did. Heck, even Shadow acted like he was in the blues, he had nothing to do with Linda and yet he was still affected

Thomas and the elder Anderson’s attempted to cheer everyone up but, didn’t get much progress. They gave up trying

Linda while in her prison started to feel these emotions and desperately tried again, but no one could help. She was stuck and eventually faced her fate, the unknown

The reason this took some time is that I got stuck on many occasions, a lot of writer’s block and a bunch of other ideas I want to try out.

The reason this is short is because of writer’s block. I love writing stories about these kinds of things but for me, writer's block is common, too common to say the least

That’s why I’m ending my take on this series, I’m sure ZanzaFlux is working on some new stories with Ben and the gang, I’m sure those will be very enjoyable as well

For this series, it has come to an end. But don’t worry, I will write other things, just not Ben and co. stuff. I will also take a break from writing as I am focusing on other things with my friends

So just like my favorite YouTube channel likes to say:

Memento Mori

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, you read the end part, I'll be taking a break. You guys lookout for new stuff from ZanzaFlux, as he or she is the only reason I did this

**Author's Note:**

> Ya know what? ima take my time, and ima do 5-6k word chapters because tbh I need time to think, I'll be writing but maybe a little slower than I want it to, so sorry if it takes a long time, just know that I'm trying


End file.
